This archive report was first published on 5 May 2020.
On Monday, a light aircraft carrying aid supplies for the fight against Covid-19 was shot down in Somalia's Bardale area, killing all six on board. The incident occurred around 3:30 pm local time, according to the Somali Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.
The aircraft, an Embraer 5Y-AXO plane belonging to African Express, was carrying two Kenyan pilots and four Somali nationals. The Ministry stated that the incident occurred under unclear circumstances, with the aircraft supporting humanitarian operations during the Covid-19 pandemic period.
Kenya has asked Somalia to investigate the incident, warning that it could harm humanitarian aid deliveries in Somalia. Nairobi demanded swift investigations into the incident, urging Kenyan and other humanitarian aircraft operating in the region to enhance extra precaution in light of the unclear circumstances.
Local security officials told Reuters that a rocket-propelled grenade brought down the light aircraft while it was landing in the town in the Bay region. Al Qaeda-linked insurgency group Al Shabaab has a presence in the area where the plane came down, although the town of Bardale and its airfield is secured by Somali forces and Ethiopian troops.
State-run Somalia News Agency reported that it was not clear why the plane, which belonged to African Express Airways, crashed. The plane was coming from Mogadishu to Baidoa with the continued flight to Bardale where it crashed.
On Tuesday, Somalia's Transport Minister Mohamed Salad said he was sending a unit to investigate the incident, which will arrive on the same day, and welcomed international assistance.
