Ethiopian troops deployed in occupied southern Somalia have shot down a cargo plane in the town of Bardaale in Bay province, according to sources.
Local contacts reveal the plane was readying to land at the airstrip in Bardaale when it come under fire. What was believed to be a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), at first that shot down the plane turned out to be in fact a ZU anti aircraft gun mounted on a vehicle according to local sources that spoke with Halgan Media on condition of anonymity.
The cargo plane departed the city of Baydhabo and was flying low over the town of Bardaale, when it came under fire in a wooded area adjacent to the local airstrip.
Sources reveal the plane immediately bursted into flames, upon impact with the artillery shells from the ZU anti aircraft gun. What remained of the plane crashed into a field. Thick plumes of smoke could be seen billowing over the sky’s.
It’s still not clear why the Ethiopian troops shot the cargo plane down. The aircraft was said to be transporting medical supplies, with a total of six people on board including the pilot prior to coming under fire.
All the victims where immediately killed upon impact. Sources reveal one of the victims works for the Italian based NGO known as “intersos” which operates out of Rome.
Intersos maintains a long track record of humanitarian work in the war ravaged country (Somalia). They operate hospitals in major cities such as Jowhar, Baydhabo and the capital Mogadishu.
Therefore it’s widely believed the cargo plane was carrying urgently needed medical supplies. The Ethiopian military commanders overseeing Ethiopian army contingents in occupied southern Somalia have remained tight lipped over the situation.
However sources have informed the Halgan Media service desk that senior Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) officials are pressuring local authorities in Somalia’s autonomous Southwest regional state to blame the incident on Al Shabaab.
As per sources, a closed door meeting took place in the administrative headquarters of Baydhabo between Southwest and senior ENDF commanders.
The meeting entailed that local authorities would publicly release a statement accusing the Al Qaeda affiliated armed group Al Shabaab for shooting down the plane. Weather local authorities go through with the demand remains to be seen.
This latest cover up comes as both local and international media pick up on the story of the downed cargo plane. Many even reporting the plane was carrying crucial supplies meant for combating the spread of COVID19.
Authorities in Mogadishu are yet to address the blatant violation of the countries sovereignty. Nor has the black box of the plane been recovered.
Tens of thousands of Ethiopian troops are currently occupying Southern Somalia under the guise of the US led war on terror. The overwhelming majority of these troops are deployed in the following provinces of Bay, Bakool, Gedo, Hiiraan and Galgaduud.
The downing of the cargo plane owned by African Express seems to have shed light on Ethiopia’s illegal troop presence in Somalia but it remains to be seen if authorities in Addis Ababa are held accountable for the killing of NGO’s and humanitarians in Bardaale, Somalia.
Halgan Media Service Desk
Contact us : info@halganmedia.net
