Civilians burn bodies of troops
2007-03-21 19:14
Mogadishu - Heavy fighting erupted on Wednesday in the Somali capital, killing as many as 14 people in an escalation of violence that saw the bodies of dead soldiers burned and dragged through the streets.
Exchanges of heavy weapons fire across southern Mogadishu killed six uniformed soldiers and eight civilians, after insurgents attacked a former defence ministry headquarters housing Ethiopian troops backing the Somali government.
Three of the casualties were seen by reporters, while 11 others were reported by witnesses but could not be immediately confirmed.
Residents burned the bodies of two soldiers and dragged another through the streets, in a grim echo of the treatment meted out to US troops in a failed UN-backed peace operation in Somalia in the early 1990s.
Hundreds of angry civilians celebrated in the Baruwa neighbourhood as they set the corpses of the two soldiers ablaze, shouting: "You and Ethiopians will die", "Down, Down with Somali troops", and "We will burn you alive".
Shells kill civilians
Nearby, a woman carrying a panga shouted obscenities against Ethiopian and Somali troops while stepping on the body of another dead soldier being dragged by a rope tied to his foot, said a witness. It was unclear if the soldiers were Somali or Ethiopian.
Civilians were caught in the stray gunfire and shelling after troops responded to the morning attack.
"Three people were killed after shells landed in their house," said witness resident Abdulkadir Hassan.
"So far, I have seen four bodies of people killed and several others wounded," said Abdullahi Ahmed Sheikh, a resident of Shukri area.
Another resident, Mohamed Ali Sheke, said he had seen three government troops killed in Hilweyne military camp. "Their bodies are still lying in the area," he added.
Muhubo Moalim Dahir, a resident of the Al-Baraka area, said a stray bullet had killed his neighbour.
Doctors in the capital's largest Medina Hospital said they expected a large number of casualties.
'Very difficult situation'
"We have so far received more than 60 wounded people. We are in a very difficult situation," said the hospital's head administrator Dahir Dheere.
The Somali ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Nur, said in Nairobi that Wednesday's fighting was sparked by a government crackdown on suspected Islamist insurgents.
"Early this morning, the Somali forces started a military operation in Mogadishu aimed at wiping out those militiamen," said Nur.
"We believe that these forces are behind the recent mortar attacks," he added.
A planned 8 000-strong African force aims to help Somali government troops regain control.
"So far, we have not been counter-attacking at all," said a spokesperson for the AU forces.
"We are still in the phase of settling down the whole operation," said captain Paddy Ankunda, in charge of about 1 500 Ugandan AU troops already deployed.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Ethiopian forces on Wednesday pulled out of the presidential palace, as Somali troops and AU peacekeepers took over control of what has become a prime target for insurgent attacks.
- SAPA