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Somalia: Civilians Shelled As Ethiopian Foreign Minister Visits
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Garowe Online (Garowe)
29 March 2008
Posted to the web 30 March 2008
Garowe
Government troops shelled a crowded market in the Somali capital on Saturday after suspected insurgents launched mortars at the presidential palace, where Ethiopia's foreign affairs minister met with the Somali president.
At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded after several shells landed inside Mogadishu's main Bakara market, witnesses reported.
Five mortars slammed in and around Villa Somalia, the presidential compound where interim President Abdullahi Yusuf met privately with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin.
Islamist guerrillas claimed responsiblity for the mortars on a Web site posting.
There has been no official statement regarding Mr. Mesfin's unannounced trip to Mogadishu, but government sources said the Ethiopian Foreign Minister' s discussions with President Yusuf centered around security and the reconciliation process.
Bakara market has been a source of insurgent attacks, with numerous government officials claiming that the market is a major base for insurgents.
Last week, a 100-strong private force funded by traders and approved by Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein began security patrols inside Bakara market.
The Ethiopian government deployed its army into Somalia to save Yusuf's weak interim government from collapse, but the Somali government and its foreign military backers have faced a bloody insurgency since.
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Thousands of civilians have been killed during the insurgency, which has displaced 1 million people from their homes, according to the United Nations.
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