The armed Islamist group al-Shabab in Somalia has taken control of a United Nations helicopter, capturing eight individuals including crew members and passengers.
The helicopter touched down in the group’s controlled area in central Somalia.
An aviation incident involving a UN-contracted helicopter carrying out a medical evacuation has been verified by the UN mission in Somalia (Unsom).
The UN’s mission in Somalia (Unsom) confirmed an “aviation incident” involving a UN-contracted helicopter conducting a medical evacuation.
The statement read, “Response efforts are under way,” without mentioning al-Shabab.
A UN memo on the incident seen by reports says the helicopter crash-landed about 70km (43 miles) southeast of Dhusamareb and no UN staff were on board. The personnel were third-party contractors, the report said.
The nationalities of those on board have not been specified, nor the exact number involved. One passenger was reportedly killed and two others fled.
Al-Shabab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The group is affiliated to al-Qaeda and has waged a brutal insurgency for nearly 20 years
The seizure of the helicopter was confirmed by Galmudug region Security Minister Mohamed Abdi Adan.
Several foreigners and two locals were on the helicopter, Somali military official Major Hassan Ali told Reuters news agency.
The helicopter was heading to Wisil town near the frontlines of an offensive against al-Shabab by government forces when it landed.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) posted on social media on Wednesday night that the aircraft was “not a WFP or UN Humanitarian Air Service craft and no WFP personnel were aboard”.
The WFP added that as a precaution, its flights in the area had been temporarily suspended.
The Somali government has in recent months intensified its fight against the al-Qaeda-linked group
