Battle of Buulo Mareer

Battle of Buulo-Mareer
Part of the War in Somalia
Date26 May 2023
Location
Buulo Mareer, Somalia
1°37′47″N 44°31′11″E / 1.6298°N 44.5196°E / 1.6298; 44.5196
Result

Decisive Al-Shabaab victory,[3] UPDF retreat[4]

  • Militants take full control of Buulo-Mareer FOB[4]
  • Deadliest attack on both ATMIS and Ugandan forces in Somalia to date[5]
  • Buulo-Mareer recaptured by ATMIS troops 6 days later[2]
Belligerents
Al-Shabaab ATMIS[1]
Uganda Uganda[2]
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad Diriye Uganda Lt. Col. Edward Nyororo  †
Uganda Maj. John Oluka
Uganda Maj. Obbo
Units involved
Fighters from Lower Shabelle region Uganda Battle Group 37[6]
Strength
±800 fighters Uganda 221 soldiers[7]
Casualties and losses
Unknown 54 killed
(per UPDF)
137–200 killed
(per Al-Shabaab)
Several captured
Unknown wounded
Buulo Mareer is located in Somalia
Buulo Mareer
Buulo Mareer
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Buulo Mareer, Somalia

The battle of Buulo Mareer took place on 26 May 2023, when Al-Shabaab fighters stormed an African Union military camp manned by Ugandan forces in the town of Bulo Marer, Lower Shabelle, Somalia.[1][2]

The attack remains the deadliest on ATMIS troops (successor to AMISOM) since their formation in April 2022, and is also Uganda's worst defeat in Somalia since its deployment in February 2007.[5]

  1. ^ a b Kithumbu, Alex (2023-05-26). "Statement on Buulo Mareer FOB attack by Al-Shabaab". African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  2. ^ a b c "UPDF Uproots Al-Shabaab Terror Group From Buulo Mareer". UPDF. 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  3. ^ "Attack on Atmis base sends shockwaves in Uganda". The East African. 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  4. ^ a b "Shabaab overruns Ugandan base in Somalia | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  5. ^ a b "Uganda: Corruption, no quality control…factors in AU Somalia mission attack". The Africa Report.com. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  6. ^ "New Ugandan battle group deploys in Somalia under ATMIS". Horn Observer. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc.network was invoked but never defined (see the help page).