A military helicopter operated by the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) crashed and caught fire early Tuesday at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport, killing at least three people, officials confirmed.
The helicopter, operated by the Ugandan Air Force under the AUSSOM mission, was attempting to land after taking off from Baledogle Airfield in the Lower Shabelle region. It carried eight personnel on board.
Three survivors were taken to the AUSSOM hospital. Their condition remains undisclosed.
Witnesses reported a loud explosion and rising smoke after the aircraft plummeted. “We saw it spinning before it crashed,” aviation officer Omar Farah told reporters. Another witness described “a huge explosion and smoke everywhere.”
The cause of the crash is still unknown, and neither AUSSOM nor the Somali government has released an official statement on what led to the incident.
Airport operations were briefly delayed, but civil aviation authorities say the runway is now fully operational, and normal flight schedules have resumed.
This is the second AUSSOM helicopter incident in weeks. A prior crash occurred in the Hawadley district during an evacuation mission after flooding displaced Burundian peacekeepers.
The crash comes as Somali forces—backed by AU troops—continue operations against al-Shabaab. This week, the army reported the killing of a senior al-Shabaab commander in Middle Shabelle.
AUSSOM, formerly ATMIS, maintains over 11,000 peacekeeping personnel from countries including Uganda and Kenya to support Somali forces against militant threats.
