September 1, 2015, members of Islamist militant group, Al-Shabaab, attacked the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Janale base. According to Reuters the militant group claimed responsibility for the attack and said it has left 50 soldiers dead, but government officials are yet to confirm the number of victims.

The group breached the defences crashing into the facility with a car before armed men made their way into the base to battle the soldiers. A Somali military officer told Reuters that the militants had damaged a nearby bridge making it impossible to get reinforcement.

According to reports, Al-Shabaab claimed that it had taken full control of the base, but AMISOM took to twitter to reject the claim.

AMISOM has consistently faced attacks from the militant group. In June, the group rammed a car into its Leego base and killed 35 soldiers. The group vowed to step up attacks in Mogadishu, the country’s capital and also continue to target AMISOM as long as their forces remained in Somalia.

Al-Shabaab is most active in Somalia but has also been responsible for deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda.  The group plans to topple western-backed government in these countries and create states guided by strict Islamic laws. It has carried out more than 1,700 terrorist attacks and accounts for the death of over 4,000 people since it emerged in 2007. In a bid to cover more territories, Al-Shabaab has focused on military facilities which make up for 48% of their attacks since 2007.

Here are some reactions to the attack.

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