16 killed as insurgents, soldiers clash in Somali
Source: Agencies |
February 2, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
INSURGENTS fired mortar bombs at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, overnight, prompting return fire by troops that killed at least 16 people, medical officials and residents said yesterday.
Violence has killed an estimated 21,000 people or more in the failed Horn of Africa nation since the start of 2007 and driven another 1.5 million from their homes, helping trigger one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies.
Rebels from the hardline al Shabaab group, which Washington says is al-Qaida's proxy in Somalia, routinely fire at the hilltop Villa Somali palace from other parts of Mogadishu. Troops at the palace often launch shells back.
Residents and medical officials said several bombs struck the city's northern Suqa Holaha, or livestock market, district.
"At least 16 people died and 71 others were wounded in four districts of Mogadishu," said Ali Yasin Gedi, vice chairman of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization.
Somalia has not had an effective government for nearly two decades, leading to the rise of warlords, heavily armed militias and pirates terrorizing shipping off its shores.
Western security agencies say the country has become a safe haven for Islamist militants, including foreign jihadists, who are using it to plot attacks across the region and beyond.
At an African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital on Friday, Somalia's Foreign Minister Ali Jama' Jangeli called for more African Union troops to help about 5,000 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi who are based in the Somali capital.
His Kenyan and Sudanese counterparts backed the call. Djibouti has said it would send 450 soldiers soon.
On Sunday, al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage called on Djibouti to reconsider the move.
"We warn the Djibouti government and strongly recommend that it not send its troops here, otherwise there will be bad consequences for it," Rage said.
Violence has killed an estimated 21,000 people or more in the failed Horn of Africa nation since the start of 2007 and driven another 1.5 million from their homes, helping trigger one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies.
Rebels from the hardline al Shabaab group, which Washington says is al-Qaida's proxy in Somalia, routinely fire at the hilltop Villa Somali palace from other parts of Mogadishu. Troops at the palace often launch shells back.
Residents and medical officials said several bombs struck the city's northern Suqa Holaha, or livestock market, district.
"At least 16 people died and 71 others were wounded in four districts of Mogadishu," said Ali Yasin Gedi, vice chairman of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization.
Somalia has not had an effective government for nearly two decades, leading to the rise of warlords, heavily armed militias and pirates terrorizing shipping off its shores.
Western security agencies say the country has become a safe haven for Islamist militants, including foreign jihadists, who are using it to plot attacks across the region and beyond.
At an African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital on Friday, Somalia's Foreign Minister Ali Jama' Jangeli called for more African Union troops to help about 5,000 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi who are based in the Somali capital.
His Kenyan and Sudanese counterparts backed the call. Djibouti has said it would send 450 soldiers soon.
On Sunday, al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage called on Djibouti to reconsider the move.
"We warn the Djibouti government and strongly recommend that it not send its troops here, otherwise there will be bad consequences for it," Rage said.
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