At least 167 Ethiopian soldiers were killed in an ambush organized by militants of the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab in western Somalia, local media has reported, citing a statement from the group.
According to the report, a convoy of Ethiopian troops traveling near the border town of Rab Dhuure in Somalia's Bakol region was ambushed by terrorists.
The ambushed Ethiopian troops, operating in Somalia as part of regional anti-terrorist efforts, had reportedly crossed over the border into Somalia to reinforce their forward operating base in the town of Wajid, which has been under blockade by militants for almost ten years. The town is located 69 kilometers southeast of the Somalia-Ethiopia border.
According to the media report, Somali officials have confirmed the attack and the ensuing firefight, without providing further details. At the same time, the Ethiopian military and the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) have not commented on the attack.
The radical Islamist group al-Shabaab, based in Somalia, has close ties to the international terrorist organization al-Qaeda. It is waging an armed insurgency against the central authorities of Somalia while obstructing United Nations humanitarian activities in the region.
The Somali government has recently stepped up its efforts to combat the terrorist group. In 2022, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared a "total war" against terrorists that includes ideological, financial, and military fronts, aiming to defeat the group by the end of 2023.
*Al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab are terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other countries.