Somalia — Ethiopian troops killed 12 Somali nomads after being attacked by insurgents in Kaba Hirig about 80 kilometres west of Mogadishu, but now the number has risen to 23, eyewitnesses said on Sunday.

"We found six bodies in the bush near water well and we buried this morning," one resident told Radio Shabelle by phone.

Another resident told Shabelle that they had found 5 bodies including a young baby and his mother who the Ethiopian soldiers killed them.

The Ethiopian troops have reportedly killed those people when they were ambushed by insurgents in the area on Friday.

Locals say the Ethiopian soldiers have indiscriminately opened gun fire to the deceased civilians and their animals.

Hawiye traditional elders condemned the killing which they called a massacre committed by the Ethiopian soldiers.