The al-Qaeda group al-Shabaab ambushed two military convoys of Ethiopian troops in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) organization last week, killing an unknown number of troops, according to VOA News. ATMIS is authorized by the African Union and mandated by the United Nations Security Council. 

Ethiopian soldiers operate under ATMIS, but Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has a sizable contingent of non-AU troops in the Horn of Africa country. A security source told VOA the ambushed troops were not part of ATMIS.

One of the ATMIS convoys was on its way to the Wajid district, while the other was heading to the capital Huddur on Sunday morning in the southwestern Somali province of Bakool, which borders Ethiopia.

Bakool officials, reported by Anadolu (AA), said the terrorists attacked the convoy of Ethiopian troops after they crossed the border into Somalia on Sunday.

“We don’t know how many Ethiopian soldiers were killed in this massive ambush, but it has been confirmed to me that several soldiers were killed,” an officer said.

Later, the terrorist group claimed to have killed 167 Ethiopian soldiers on its digital platform, reported TRT Afrika. The group often exaggerates figures in its favor.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Somalia, Mukhtar Mohamed Ware told VOA he saw al-Shabab’s claim on social media and described it as “propaganda.”

“They can try to attack the Ethiopian army, but they cannot engage in a fight with the Ethiopian defense forces for even 10 minutes,” the ambassador said. He also claimed that the country’s army is professional, well-equipped, and organized.

The ambassador also denied Al Shabaab’s claim that the Ethiopian troops were “crusaders.”

“We are not crusaders; we are there under the African Union and international community decisions to support legitimate government of Somalia in its effort to establish peace in this country. So, this is a mere propaganda blown by al-Shabab that is commonly known.”

Last Sunday, a security officer in Huddur told Anadolu anonymously that Ethiopian and Somali troops killed over 55 al-Shabaab terrorists in a counteroffensive. He did not say how many Ethiopian soldiers were killed or injured in the ambushes, reporting however that there were heavy casualties.

Somalia has been under duress from al-Shabaab and the Daesh/ISIS terror groups since the early naughts, and since 2007, the Somali government and ATMIS have been clashing with the al-Shabaab terror group.  

Earlier on Friday, al-Shabaab terrorists carried out a suicide bombing on the Galmudug state president, reported TRT Afrika. The previous Monday, Mohamed Mohamud, a member of the Galmudug state parliament, was killed in a bomb attack in the region as well. Two soldiers were also killed, and two members of Somalia’s federal parliament were injured in Friday’s attack, which happened hours after the Somali government claimed the national army killed over 30 al-Shabaab terrorists in its central state Galmudug.

Since the two ambushes on Ethiopian troops, forces have captured a series of nearby towns and villages held by Al-Shabaab, including Ba’adweyne, Qay’ad, Shabelow and Qodqod on September 18, reported the VOA.

Government troops and local forces recently restarted capturing back territories from al-Shabaab, after an attack on August 26 in Cowsweyne that killed over 20 soldiers.

Ethiopia has placed several thousand military personnel in Somalia in ATMIS, and other forces with arrangements from Mogadishu, Somalia. ATMIS recently announced the start of the second round of planned troop withdrawals this week, said VOA News, adding to the pressure in the region.

Brigadier General Abdirahman Mohamed Turyare said the impact of the drawdown on Somalia’s security will depend on the success of ongoing military operations. 

“If the government makes good progress [on] the liberation campaign in the next months it can cope with the reduction of AU troops,” he said. 

“If it doesn’t succeed, it will impact because the [AU] troops are holding areas; people living in those areas and [Somali] troops have them as a company. It will impact if the operation prolongs.”