Five killed in Somali clashes
2008-07-17 09:39
Mogadishu - At least five civilians, including a woman and her two children, were killed early on Thursday after Somali insurgents attacked an Ethiopian military camp in the Somali capital, said witnesses.
The feuding sides used heavy artillery in southern Mogadishu's Huriwa district, one of the most volatile zones in the seaside capital, they said.
A mother and her two offspring were killed after Ethiopian forces fired mortars in retaliation, said Mohamed Moalim Hassan, an elder.
Stray bullets killed two civilians in the same area, bringing the toll to five, said another resident Muhobo Ali. Islamist insurgents confirmed the attack.
"We attacked five positions in northern Mogadishu, where the enemy forces are based and we killed many of them. Two of our holy warriors were martyred and three others were wounded in the clashes," said Sheikh Abdirahin Isse Ado, a spokesperson for the Islamists.
The latest clash came a week after a July 09 deadline for the implementation of a truce, initialled last month by the federal government and top leaders from the main Islamist-dominated opposition movement.
The June 09 accord gave all sides a month to start enforcing a ceasefire but was quickly rejected by Islamist hardliners, including the Shebab.
They insisted that Ethiopian forces backing the government should withdraw from the country before any talks start.