Ethiopian forces stationed in Bardelle area, Somalia shot down a Kenyan aircraft transporting medical supplies on “mistaken identity”, preliminary reports indicate.
The African-Express owned plane which crashed killing three Kenyans and three Somali nationals was downed on Monday at 3:45 pm on its way to Bardelle Airstrip.
The report compiled by the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) said that Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) – not part of Amisom – keeping guard at Bardelle airstrip shot at the plane over suspicion that it could be on a suicide mission.
ENDF cited that there were no reports that the aircraft was headed for Bardelle as it left Mogadishu in Somalia, a 300km journey.
“There was no information that the aircraft would be at Bardelle… the aircraft was flying out of usual site repeatedly closer to the ground.. the troops suspected that the aircraft was a suicide attacker and seeking a target to attack. Due to the above reason, the African Express Type E-120 was shot down by our force Ethiopian forces said.
The aircraft also raised alarm among the Ethiopian forces keeping guard at the airstrip as it approached the airstrip “in unusual West-East movement, as opposed to the usual East-West when landing” which raised suspicion.
“Because of lack of communication and awareness, the aircraft was shot down and three Kenyan and two Somali citizens died in the incident,” Amisom headquarters in Mogadishu said.
Amisom further called on Ethiopia, Somali and Kenyan to conduct “collaborative investigations” to further understand the situation since forces not affiliated to Amisom shot down an aircraft that killed six people.
A Kenyan captain and co-pilot are among the three Kenyans who perished when a light aircraft transporting medical supplies in Somalia crashed in Bardale region on Monday.
Captain Mabruk Islam Sherman, and his co-pilot Omar Chiraghdin left Mogadishu for Baidoa. They later took off headed for Bardale where the plane crashed at 3:45 pm. It is reportedly said that the plane was shot down killing four other passengers of Somali origin on board.
Before taking off from Mogadishu, the captain called his wife and three kids and informed them that he would be home by Thursday, May 7, 2020.
