MOGADISHU, Somalia - July 2, 2025
Five Ugandan soldiers were killed when a military helicopter serving the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia crashed at Aden Adde airport in Mogadishu, Ugandan authorities said Wednesday. Three other people on board survived with serious injuries and burns.
The aircraft was a Mi-24 helicopter carrying eight people. According to reporting from The Associated Press, it had taken off from Balli-doogle airfield in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region before crashing at the capital’s airport. Uganda’s military said the helicopter was on a routine combat escort mission at the time.
The helicopter had originally belonged to the Ugandan Air Force but was being operated under the African Union mission, known as AUSSOM. The mission supports Somali authorities in the fight against al-Shabab, the militant group that has battled the government for years and remains one of the country’s main security threats.
The crash was one of the deadliest aviation incidents involving African Union peacekeepers in Somalia this year and immediately drew attention to the risks faced by forces moving across the country by air. Somalia’s airport in the capital sits at the center of a complex security environment, where civilian traffic, military transport and international support operations overlap.
Investigators were looking into the cause of the crash. Somalia’s civil aviation chief said inquiries were underway, but no immediate explanation for the accident was released. AP reported that the crash caused minor delays at the airport, though flights and other operations later resumed. That quick return to normal operations suggested the airport’s core infrastructure remained usable, even as responders dealt with the wreckage and casualties.
Witness accounts described a fast and violent descent. An aviation officer who reached the site early told AP that he saw the helicopter spinning before it fell sharply. A nearby resident said he saw a large explosion and smoke across the area. Those remarks were part of AP’s reporting from the scene and matched the broad picture of a sudden crash at a busy airport.
The African Union mission in Somalia has long depended on regional troop contributors, and Uganda has been among the most important. Its forces have been a central part of outside support for Somali operations against al-Shabab, which continues to mount attacks and challenge the government’s control in parts of the country.
A crash of this kind also has broader operational consequences. It can disrupt transport schedules, affect morale among deployed forces and require emergency responses from local authorities already stretched by conflict-related demands. Even when casualty numbers are limited to those aboard the aircraft, the impact can spread quickly through a security mission.
For Uganda, the accident is a serious loss of personnel in a mission that has long depended on regional support. For Somalia, it was another reminder of how closely civilian aviation hubs and military operations can overlap in a country still managing conflict and instability.
Officials in both countries said the investigation would continue. For now, the confirmed toll is five dead and three badly injured, all aboard a helicopter that was part of the African Union’s security effort in Somalia.
Event date: July 2, 2025
