Ethiopia Admits Shooting Down COVID-19 Aid Plane in Somalia

Ethiopia admitted Saturday that they shot down over Somalia a Kenyan plane carrying humanitarian and medical aid, killing all six people on board.

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Ethiopian troops protecting a camp in the town of Bardale in southwestern Somalia mistakenly believed the plane was on a "potential suicide mission" because they had not been informed about the "unusual flight" and the aircraft was flying low, a statement issued to the African Union reads.

The African Express flight 711 with registration 5Y AXO was allegedly hit by a truck-mounted rocket-propelled grenade while landing in Bardaale. Out of the six crew members, four were Kenyans while two were Somali.

"Because of lack of communication and awareness, the aircraft was shot down," the military added. The incident that happened on Monday “will require mutual collaborative investigation team from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya to further understand the truth."

Kenya expressed its shock over the incident, saying the plane was on a humanitarian mission amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Soldiers from Ethiopia and Kenya are among those deployed to Somalia as part of an AU peacekeeping mission to fight the armed group al-Shabab.