12 killed in Somalia attack
2008-04-30 16:12
Mogadishu - Ethiopian forces killed at least 12 civilians on Wednesday after a roadside bomb exploded near their water tanker in southwest Somalia, witnesses said.
"At least 12 people were killed and nine others wounded by fire from Ethiopian soldiers," witness Abdurahman Takow told AFP. He said three of the wounded appeared to be severely hurt.
The explosion in the town of Baidoa killed one Ethiopian soldier, prompting the troops to open fire in all directions, said Mohamed Adde Ali, another witness, giving the same death toll.
But a top Ethiopian military commander in the capital Mogadishu said his troops did not open fire and maintained the blast killed at least 17 civilians and one of his soldiers.
"Seventeen civilians were killed by the blast that was very heavy. We lost one of our soldiers," the commander told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The commander added that his forces backing Somali troops killed two insurgents suspected of planting the bomb.
Deadly guerrilla war
A similar explosion, also in Baidoa, on Monday killed four Ethiopian troops sparking a retaliatory attack in which four civilians died in the town around 250km northwest of the capital Mogadishu.
Ethiopian troops came to support Somalia's embattled transitional government in late 2006 and the following year defeated an Islamist militia which had taken control of large parts south and central Somalia.
Remaining militia members have since waged a deadly guerrilla war against the government as well as allied Ethiopian forces and AU peacekeepers.
Meanwhile, Islamist rebels overnight kidnapped and killed Colonel Abdullahi Farah, a Somali army commander in charge of Hiraan region, elders said.
"The commander was killed by masked people who accused him of being an Ethiopian puppet," elder Mohamed Elmi told AFP.
The Somali conflict has left thousands dead, including many civilians, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Many of them are living in squalid conditions.
Somalia has been wracked by violence since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre paved the way for a bloody power struggle that has defied numerous bids to restore normalcy.