Garowe Online (Garowe)
9 November 2008
Islamist insurgents attacked numerous Somali government targets and military bases housing Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers in 'hours of fighting' that brought life to standstill in Mogadishu, the country's war-torn capital, Radio Garowe reported Sunday.
At least 13 people were killed in separate attacks across Mogadishu, with medical sources confirming a total of 35 wounded persons since Saturday evening.
AU peacekeepers from Burundi, who are based at the old Somali National University campus in south Mogadishu, came under attack last night when insurgents using rocket launchers and machineguns targeted the base.
Gen. Francis Okello, top commander of the AU force in Mogadishu, told reporters that the attack on the peacekeepers was "intended to spoil the peace agreement."
On Sunday, the insurgents again attacked positions manned by Somali-Ethiopian government forces and AU peacekeepers from Uganda in Wardhigley and Hodan districts, witnesses said.
Artillery exchanges between the warring sides hit homes in faraway neighborhoods and Mogadishu's Bakara market, killing and wounding scores of civilians.
Business centers closed their doors after shells hit parts of the market, forcing civilians to flee to safety.
Officials at Medina, Keysaney and Daynile hospitals reported 35 wounded victims, with one medical source warning of "more deaths."
A spokesman for al Shabaab insurgents who did not identify himself told a Mogadishu-based radio station that the guerrillas "killed many soldiers from Ethiopia and Uganda."
The government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
The guerrilla attacks in Mogadishu come five days after an official ceasefire theoretically went into effect between the Ethiopian-backed government forces and an Islamist-led opposition group.
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