Insurgents vow more attacks
2008-09-03 17:18
Mogadishu - Mortar shells slammed into Somalia's capital on Wednesday as insurgents vowed to intensify attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Somalia already sees near-daily explosions of bloodshed, and thousands of Somalis - most of them civilians - have been killed since Islamic fighters began an Iraq-style insurgency in December 2006, after they were driven from power in Mogadishu and much of the south.
At least two people were killed early on Wednesday, said Abdiqadir Hassan Hussein, a Mogadishu resident who witnessed some of the fighting and saw two people killed, a death toll that is expected to rise. Both sides exchanged mortar and heavy machine-gun fire in a two-hour battle, forcing terrified residents to cower in their homes.
Wednesday's violence was the worst since August 21, when four hours of fighting outside the presidential palace killed 12 people and injured 17 others.
The insurgents are trying to topple the government and drive out Ethiopian troops who are propping up the administration.
'We will go to heaven'
"If we die while fasting for the sake of Allah, we will go to heaven," a 26-year-old Islamic fighter, Abdi Yusuf, told The Associated Press by telephone. "So there is no reason why we shouldn't intensify the fighting."
During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex, to focus on spiritual introspection. But the Islamists' spokesperson Abdirahin Issa Adow said fighters have "decided to double attacks against the Ethiopians and their stooges during the holy month of Ramadan," which began this week.
He said the Ramadan attacks do not violate the Qu?ran because his fighters are battling "enemies of Allah".
Somalia has been at war since 1991, when clan-based militias ousted a socialist dictator and then fought for power among themselves. The conflict is complicated by clan loyalties and the involvement of archenemies Eritrea and Ethiopia, who back opposite sides in the fighting.
- AP