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Somalia: PM Returns Home, Eight Civilians Killed By Ethiopian Shells
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Garowe Online (Garowe)
14 December 2007
Posted to the web 15 December 2007
Somalia's interim Prime Minister, Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein, returned to the southwestern town of Baidoa Friday after visiting African and European capitals.
Prime Minister Nur Adde was welcomed at the Baidoa airstrip by various government officials, including lawmakers, regional officials and representatives from the Baidoa municipal government.
The Somali premier visited the capitals of Kenya, Ethiopia, Portugal and the United Kingdom in his first foreign trip as prime minister.
Ethiopian army
In Ethiopia, Prime Minister Nur Adde met with a U.S. government delegation led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and various African Union and Ethiopian government officials.
He pushed for a stronger AU peacekeeping force to replace Ethiopian troops.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin informed Premier Nur Adde of Addis Ababa's dissatisfaction with his new Cabinet, composed mostly of former government officials.
At home, the Prime Minister continues to face stiff resistance from angry lawmakers and a restive public, both displeased with his Cabinet appointments.
During a recent interview with Voice of America, Nur Adde indicated that he will change the outlook of his Cabinet and include more efficient people.
Shelling
Ethiopian army units began shelling parts of northern Mogadishu today as insurgent fighters intensified their armed rebellion against Ethiopian rule.
At least eight civilians were killed and dozens wounded when Ethiopian shells slammed into their homes and other hideouts, reliable sources said.
Many people were seen fleeing their homes as the gun battles spread from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Witnesses said a mother and her son were shot to death by Ethiopian snipers in Yaaqshiid district. The two victims walked along a prohibited road, sources said.
Mortars and shells hit locations in Daynile, Yaaqshiid, Jungal and Arafat areas, according to residents.
Somali Interior Minister Mohamed "Gamodheere" Mohamud appealed to allied Somali-Ethiopian armed forces to cease shelling areas inhabited by civilians.
Ethiopia deployed troops to Somalia late last year to help install the interim government in Mogadishu after ousting Islamist rulers.
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But the Islamists and allied clan factions have waged a relentless war to expel Ethiopian forces from Somali soil since, and helped create Africa's greatest humanitarian crisis in the process.
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