2009 African Union base bombings in Mogadishu

In 2009, the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) base in Mogadishu was struck by two large-scale suicide bombing attacks carried out by the militant group al-Shabaab. Together, the two attacks killed 32 people, including 28 AMISOM soldiers, and injured 55 others.

The first attack occurred on 22 February 2009 against the AMISOM base in Mogadishu. It was carried out by al-Shabaab using one suicide bomber in a car and a second bomber on foot. The car bomber was identified as a Somali contractor who had easy access to the base. The attack killed 11 Burundian soldiers and left 15 others seriously injured.

The second attack took place on 17 September 2009 in the form of twin suicide bombings at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, which served as AMISOM's headquarters. The bombers gained entry to the base using two stolen white United Nations vehicles and struck during a meeting between AMISOM troops and representatives of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government. The attack killed 17 soldiers — 12 Burundian and five Ugandan — along with four Somali civilians, and wounded another 40 people. Among those killed was Brigadier General Juvenal Niyoyunguruza of Burundi, the deputy head of AMISOM. The mission's Ugandan commander, General Nathan Mugisha, was wounded in the blast.

In the aftermath of the September bombings, shelling by both al-Shabaab and AMISOM forces killed an additional 19 Somali civilians.