'Response efforts are underway,' UN says of helicopter captured in Somalia

WASHINGTON

A UN official confirmed Wednesday that one of its helicopters was captured in Somalia, without providing further information due to safety reasons.

"Yes, I can confirm that there was an incident involving a UN-contracted helicopter that took place today in Galmudug in Somalia.

"Response efforts are underway," Secretary-General's spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

His remarks came after Al-Shabaab terrorists captured the helicopter Wednesday in central Somalia after it accidentally landed in an area controlled by the terror group.

Dujarric said for the safety of all involved, the UN is not going to say anything more at this point.

"Our primary concern is for their safety. So, we will leave it at that for now," he added.

Asked whether Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud discussed the issue in a telephone call, Dujarric said: "It was the phone call was about two hours ago. I don't know if they discussed it. I didn't have a chance to speak to the SG since then."

When asked about the number of people on board, he said because of safety, "we're just going to hold tight for now."

He also left unanswered the question of whether the plane landed because of technical issues.

The helicopter took off from the central city of Beledwayne and was headed to the recently liberated town of Wisil in Galmudug state.

Mohamed Abdi Adan, Galmudug state security minister, confirmed the incident and said the helicopter landed in the vicinity of Hindhere in the Galgadud region due to a technical problem.

The helicopter was carrying nine passengers, including aid workers, military personnel, third-party contractors and foreigners.

Six were taken hostage by Al-Shabaab terrorists while two others escaped, security officials told Anadolu on condition of anonymity, due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The helicopter belonged to the UN mission in Somalia.