Bodies lie in Mogadishu streets
2008-04-21 11:59
Mogadishu - Nine more bodies have been found in Somalia's war-riven capital after a weekend of clashes.
Eight decomposing corpses lay near Al-Hidaya Mosque in northern Mogadishu and another was spotted near a stadium in the south of the capital, bringing the toll from the two days of fighting to 56.
Local resident Asad Mohamoud Moalim said that "no one dares go closer, let alone (conduct) burials".
"We prayed to Allah to get us out of this hell. We were trapped in the battle area, but this morning we got a chance to flee," said Fortun Mohamoud Iro, a mother of three, adding that she saw several bodies near the mosque.
No clashes were reported on Monday in the capital. Mogadishu's heaviest fighting in two months erupted on Saturday between Ethiopian forces backing Somali government troops and Islamist insurgents.
Ethiopian troops came to the rescue of the embattled transitional government in late 2006 to oust an Islamist militia, which had taken control of large parts of the restive Horn of Africa country.
Remnant Islamist fighters had since relentlessly mounted attacks against their rivals, with civilians bearing the heaviest brunt of the internecine battles.
Somalia had been rocked by seemingly endless fighting since the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre.
- AFP