Five helicopters carrying
elite French forces have, in the cover of darkness, attacked a house in Bula Mareer,
Somalia to rescue Denis Allex, a French spy at 2 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 12.
A French soldier was
killed and another injured after facing a stiff resistance from the militia
holding Allex.
Allex had been held as
hostage since July 2009 when he was captured in Mogadishu by Alshabab forces.
Early reports show that Abdikadir Mohamed Nur,the governor of Lower Shabelle, has provided intelligence and facilitated the operation.
It appears however that the federal government
might have been kept in the dark about the planning and execution of the
operation.
This would mean that
France violated Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, a violation
also of international law.
17 militia members were
also killed in the fight, said French defense ministry. Sources on the ground however confirm over 25 people, many of them civilians have been killed in the combat.
France has carried out
similar operations in the past. Four French nationals were freed and two Somalis
and a French killed on Friday April 10, 2009 when commandos stormed pirates off
the coast of Somalia.
