Attacks put Somalia on edge
2006-12-01 14:57
Baidoa - Somali authorities were questioning two suspects on Friday over a suicide attack in Baidoa, where the country's weak government was based, as war fears grew in the shattered African nation.
Eight people were killed in Thursday's car-bombing, which the security forces suggested was the work of a powerful Islamist movement that controlled most of the south of the country including the capital, Mogadishu.
Information minister Ali Jama said: "The government condemns this act of terrorism, but we are interrogating two people whom we suspect were involved and might shed more light on the incident.
"We do not want to jump to conclusions, but all indications are that the attack was carried out by the Islamists in Mogadishu because they are the ones who have invited foreigners with this kind of expertise."
Security heightened in Baidoa
He said the suspects were seized shortly after a vehicle packed with explosives was detonated on Thursday at a checkpoint in Baidoa, the only town held by the weak government, some 250km northwest of the capital.
Patrols were intensified around the town, where security had already been heightened for several weeks since a failed attempt to assassinate Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.
The government also blamed suicide car-bombing on September 18 on the Islamists, who denied responsibility, but had since declared holy war on Ethiopian troops protecting the government.
Officials said that the explosives detonated in Thursday's attack could have been intended for a more significant target in Baidoa.
Jama said: "All indications are that they were trying to bring the explosives into Baidoa and their motive could be killing government officials, but we expect to get a clearer picture from the interrogation."
Ethiopian military convoy attacked
Thursday attack came hours after Ethiopia's parliament adopted a resolution that called the Islamists a "clear and present danger" and authorised the government to take "any legal action against any invasion coming to our country".
The vote followed an earlier Islamist-claimed attack on an Ethiopian military convoy outside Baidoa and came a day after they accused Ethiopia of shelling a town they held near the border.
Worried diplomats at the United Nations had called on all nations to respect an 1992 arms embargo on Somalia amid reports of massive military build-ups by the rival parties with embargo violations by 10 nations.
Faced with fears of further attacks, the terrified government urged the UN security council to lift or modify the embargo to allow the deployment of peacekeepers who would help improve security in the lawless African nation.
He said: "The longer it delays, more problems arise, but of the security council had lifted the embargo two years ago, the situation would be better now", insisting that the UN should disregard objections by the Islamists.