SOMALIA—Residents of Buulo Mareer area in Lower Shabelle region held protests Wednesday morning to demand justice for two men allegedly shot dead by Ugandan troops serving with ATMIS (The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia).
Confirming the incident, the Deputy Commissioner of Kuntuwarey district, Maadey Jeylani Ali said the peacekeeping forces killed two men at a farm in Buulo Mareer area. A third person escaped with gunshot injuries.
“While patrolling the area, the soldiers drove into the farm where the incident occurred. Shortly after, gunshots were heard. We can confirm that we collected two bodies with gunshot wounds, while another person escaped with injuries,” Maadey Jeylani, the Deputy Commissioner, told the Press.
ATMIS forces in Somalia are yet to respond to the matter amid growing anger by the locals over what they said has been a commonplace in the area for a while.
“We demand an answer from the head of the ATMIS mission in Somalia as well as President Hassan Sheikh and Abdiaziz Laftagaren, the South West federal state leader,” Abdirashid Ali, a relative of the victims, told Kulan Post.
ATMIS forces in the Lower Shabelle region has severally been cited in human rights reports for “committing extrajudicial killings” against the locals.
