Five Ugandan soldiers killed as helicopter crashes in Somalia

Five Ugandan soldiers were killed when a military helicopter serving the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia crashed on Wednesday at an airport in the capital, Mogadishu, according to Ugandan authorities.

The Mi-24 helicopter was arriving from an airfield in the Lower Shabelle region with eight people on board at the time of the crash. It originally belonged to the Ugandan Air Force but was



being operated by the African Union peacekeeping mission.

Uganda’s military said in a statement that the helicopter was on “a routine combat escort mission,” and the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer survived the crash with serious injuries and burns.

Ahmed Moalim Hassan, director-general of the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority, told state media that investigations are underway.