2 die in Mogadishu attacks
2007-08-13 10:49
Mogadishu - A boy was killed and a man executed in two separate incidents of violence in the war-scarred Somali capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said on Monday.
Insurgents raided a police station in the capital's southern Holwadag quarter, sparking overnight clashes that killed a boy and wounded two police officers.
"There was heavy fighting for about 30 minutes at about 00:40 ... only two policemen were wounded in the attack," said police spokesperson Abdiwahid Mohamed.
"A stray bullet killed a young boy in a house in my neighbourhood," said Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed, a resident.
Gunmean also executed a man in Wardigley, also in the south of the seaside capital.
Muna Mohamoud, a witness, said: "The man was sitting in a teashop when he was shot on the head by two men armed with pistols. He died instantly."
On Saturday, two senior Somali radio journalists were slain in Mogadishu, sparking wide condemnation and calls on the weak transitional government to firmly end the violence that has plagued the city for 16 years.
Somalia has been plagued by instability that has defied more than a dozen peace initiatives since the 1991 overthrow of former dictator Siad Barre.
Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers from Uganda are currently struggling to bolster the government's efforts to tighten its grip across in Mogadishu and much of the country.
The capital is currently hosting more than a 1 000 delegates discussing ways of ending violence and promoting reconciliation in Somalia.