Battle of Yurkud (2012)

Battle of Yurkud (2012)
Part of War in Somalia (2009-present)
Date10 March 2012
Location
Result Ethiopian Victory
Belligerents
Ethiopia Al-Shabab
Commanders and leaders
Diyad Abdi Kalil Abdiaziz Abu-Musab
Strength

Ethiopia:

Unknown

Al-Shabab:

Unknown
Casualties and losses

:

6 killed

73 killed (Al-Shabaab claim)

:

17+ killed

5 killed (Al-Shabaab claim)

The Battle of Yurkud was a three-hour-long military engagement on 10 March 2012 fought between Ethiopian military forces and al-Shabab militants approximately 40 km from the Ethiopian border. According to Ethiopian sources, al-Shabab initiated the engagement with an attack on a military base in Yurkud at around 6 a.m. Fighting continued for three hours before, as locals report, al-Shabab was forced to retreat. The number of dead on either side is not known, with reports varying widely. Al-Shabab claimed to have lost five and killed 73, while one local resident said he saw at least 17 al-Shabab dead and another claimed he had seen six dead Ethiopian soldiers.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ "Shabab and Ethiopian troops clash in Somalia". Al Jazeera. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  2. ^ Damien Pearse (10 March 2012). "At least 23 die as Ethiopian troops battle Somali Islamist insurgents". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  3. ^ Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar (10 March 2012). "Ethiopian troops clash with al Shabaab in Somalia". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.