Ethiopia admits that it shot down the Kenyan plane carrying humanitarian aid in south-west Somalia. The crash took place early last week and all six passengers, Kenyans and Somalis, died. The Ethiopian authorities speak of an error in a communiqué to the African Union.
It was a private plane from African Express Airways. On board were humanitarian and medical supplies to help Somalia in its fight against the coronavirus. The Kenyan and Somali authorities have been investigating the suspicious incident, which has rekindled tensions between the two neighbors. Ethiopia finally admits responsibility for the “incident”, in its own words, resulting from a miscommunication by its ground troops. The Ethiopian army is in fact deployed in the region to secure the Bardale military camp against attacks by the Shebab terrorist group.
Ethiopia defends its men. “The plane was behaving unusually, flying at low altitude, as if it was looking for a target to carry out a suicide attack,” the authorities said. Ethiopia says it is ready to work with Kenya and Somalia to get to the bottom of this case.