raising death toll in Somalia to 85
- From: kadiye8 <amaano83@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:45:50 -0700 (PDT)
MOGADISHU - Somali rebels seized two more towns yesterday and corpses
lay outside a Mogadishu mosque as the death-toll from battles between
Islamist-led insurgents and allied Ethiopian-Somali troops rose to at
least 85.
After mortars and machine-gun fire rocked the capital over the weekend
in the worst fighting for months, Islamist fighters seized the
southern coastal town of Guda, killing four Somali soldiers and
wounding at least seven more, locals said.
"The town is under their control at the moment," politician Omar
Abdullahi Farole said from the area. That dawn attack added to at
least 81 people dead in Mogadishu over the weekend.
The rebels have in the past few months launched an increasing number
of hit-and-run raids on small towns -- seizing control from government-
allied militias, only to melt away before reinforcements arrive.
Analysts say the Islamists' militant al Shabaab wing is behind the
attacks, which appear to be a show of strength designed to stretch the
Ethiopian and Somali troops, rather than an attempt to win and hold
territory.
Islamist fighters yesterday took another town, Dinsor, in south-
central Somalia. And they imposed Shariah law on another locality,
Wajid, taken in the same area at the weekend.
"They warned the public against erecting illegal checkpoints, smoking
cigarettes, chewing (the narcotic leaf) khat and watching movies,"
Wajid resident Aden Abdirahman said.
In Mogadishu, Ethiopian troops took over a mosque run by the moderate
Tabligh group, arresting some inside and others in the northern
neighbourhood that is an Islamist stronghold.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said she saw five dead bodies
outside the mosque. One appeared Asian, she told Reuters.
Local media stations Shabelle and HornAfrik quoted residents as saying
Ethiopian troops killed at least 10 people including some clerics --
but there was no independent confirmation of that.
Another resident, Abdulahi Mohamud, said at least 20 people -- mostly
women and children -- had been trapped in the mosque where Ethiopian
tank crews had dug deep defensive trenches. "Two Somalis who have been
beheaded are also lying there," he said.
Backed by Ethiopia, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim
government drove the Islamists out of Mogadishu at the end of 2006,
but has since then faced an Iraq-style insurgency of near-daily
assassinations and roadside bombings.
A spokeswoman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said he was "deeply
concerned" at the flare-up since the weekend, "deplores the
substantial loss of life and injuries," and urged all parties to avoid
endangering civilian lives.
UN special envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, who is trying to
broker peace talks, condemned the "senseless" violence. "I once again
appeal to everyone to accelerate efforts to restore stability and
unity and stop the violence which is bringing only misery and
destruction to the people of Somalia."
The violence has swelled an internal refugee population of about one
million. The weekend fighting in Mogadishu was mainly in the already
largely deserted north of the city
.
- Prev by Date: A Blessing in Disguise (Recognition could have been a bad thing for Somaliland)
- Next by Date: UN Special Representative condemns 'senseless' violence in Somalia
- Previous by thread: A Blessing in Disguise (Recognition could have been a bad thing for Somaliland)
- Next by thread: UN Special Representative condemns 'senseless' violence in Somalia
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
