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The plane that crashed in Somalia last week while delivering humanitarian supplies to support the response to the coronavirus pandemic was accidentally shot down by Ethiopian forces, according to statements by AMISOM and the Ethiopian army.
The African Express 711 aircraft was flying from Baidoa to a camp in Bardale, according to AMISOM, the AU military mission in Somalia, when it crashed on arrival at the airfield.
Three Kenyans and two Somali citizens were on board the plane and did not survive.
AMISOM officials immediately called for an investigation amid disputed reports about what happened, including the initial report by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) that said the plane was shot down in the May 4 incident.
The plane’s approach was different from the usual landing pattern on the airfield, prompting forces on the ground to fear they were under a terrorist attack, according to the subsequent AMISOM report, but also noted that a flaw in the landing gear caused an initial accident. The sequence of events remains unclear.
The AMISOM investigation said ENDF troops not attached to the AU mission were responsible, although both Kenya and Ethiopia contribute troops to the Somalia mission. Both the ENDF commander and AMISOM leadership cited poor communication as a key factor in the incident.
The report has raised new questions about the role of the Ethiopian army in the region and calls on the three nations to cooperate in an ongoing investigation into what happened.
Image: African Express Airways file
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