Battle of Buulo Mareer

Battle of Buulo-Mareer
	Part of the War in Somalia
	; UPDF T-54/55 tank destroyed by Al-Shabaab insurgents
Date	26 May 2023
Location	Buulo Mareer, Somalia1°37′47″N 44°31′11″E / 1.6298°N 44.5196°E
Result	Al-Shabaab victory, UPDF retreat Militants take full control of Buulo-Mareer FOB; Deadliest attack on both ATMIS and Ugandan forces in Somalia to date; Buulo-Mareer recaptured by ATMIS troops 6 days later;
Belligerents
al-Shabaab	ATMIS; Uganda
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad Diriye	Lt. Col. Edward Nyororo †; Uganda Maj. John Oluka; Maj. Obbo
Units involved
Fighters from Lower Shabelle region	Uganda Battle Group 37
Strength
±800 fighters (Ugandan claim)	221 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Unknown	54 killed; (per UPDF); 137–200 killed; (per Al-Shabaab); Several captured; Unknown wounded
	Buulo Mareer class=notpageimage\| Buulo Mareer, Somalia

The battle of Buulo Mareer took place on 26 May 2023, when Al-Shabaab fighters stormed an African Union military camp manned by Ugandan forces in the town of Bulo Marer, Lower Shabelle, Somalia.^[1]^[2]

The attack remains the deadliest on ATMIS troops (successor to AMISOM) since their formation in April 2022 and is also Uganda's worst defeat in Somalia since its deployment in February 2007.^[5]

^ ^a ^b Kithumbu, Alex (2023-05-26). "Statement on Buulo Mareer FOB attack by Al-Shabaab". African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Retrieved 2023-06-23.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference UA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Attack on Atmis base sends shockwaves in Uganda". The East African. 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
^ ^a ^b "Shabaab overruns Ugandan base in Somalia | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
^ ^a ^b "Uganda: Corruption, no quality control…factors in AU Somalia mission attack". The Africa Report.com. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
^ "New Ugandan battle group deploys in Somalia under ATMIS". Horn Observer. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
^ Cite error: The named reference bbc.network was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Kithumbu-1] Kithumbu, Alex (2023-05-26). "Statement on Buulo Mareer FOB attack by Al-Shabaab". African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Retrieved 2023-06-23.

[UA-2] Cite error: The named reference UA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[theeastafrican.co.ke-3] "Attack on Atmis base sends shockwaves in Uganda". The East African. 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-06-23.

[SO-4] "Shabaab overruns Ugandan base in Somalia | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-06-23.

[theafricareport.com-5] "Uganda: Corruption, no quality control…factors in AU Somalia mission attack". The Africa Report.com. Retrieved 2023-06-23.

[6] "New Ugandan battle group deploys in Somalia under ATMIS". Horn Observer. Retrieved 2023-06-23.

[bbc.network-7] Cite error: The named reference bbc.network was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3]

[4]

[5]

[2]

[1]

[6]

[7]