Garowe Online (Garowe)
28 January 2008
Garowe — At least two Ethiopian soldiers and two civilians were killed in Monday skirmishes with insurgents in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses said.
The fighting sparked after suspected insurgents killed the two soldiers standing guard along a major road in a sneak attack. Nine other civilians were wounded during the gunfight in north Mogadishu's Huriwa district, near the livestock market.
Both sides used heavy weapons during the battle, including machineguns and rockets. The Ethiopian troops were initially forced to withdraw from the livestock market area, with witnesses reporting that they left their two dead comrades behind.
But the Ethiopians returned moments later with more troops and were able to pull out their dead soldiers from the battle zone. In related news, an Ethiopian army base in Yaaqshiid district was hit with mortar shells Monday evening.
Ethiopian troops responded to the shells by firing their own artillery guns, although emerging reports of civilian deaths could not be independently confirmed. Somalia's rebels, who have demanded that the Ethiopian army withdraw from the country, have refused to recognize the UN-endorsed interim government.
The ongoing conflict started in January 2007 after Islamic Courts rulers were dislodged from Mogadishu by a joint Somali-Ethiopian military force. Mogadishu has known nothing but war since, with more than 6,000 people killed and 600,000 others displaced, according to the UN and local aid agencies.
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