Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
Ahmednor Mohamed Farah
30 December 2008
Somalia — At least 10 people have been killed and dozens wounded Tuesday after government and Ethiopian soldiers shelled Bakaro market in Mogadishu, witnesses said.
"A mortar shell landed in my restaurant and six people died instantly," said Ali Hassan the owner of the restaurant.
"Nine civilians were seriously injured," he said.
The shelling came after Al-shabab insurgent group fired mortars to the presidential palace where Ethiopian and government troops are based.
The government and Ethiopian troops fired back to the heavily populated market which caused the civilian deaths.
Al-shabab spokesman, Sheik Muqtar Robow Abu Manoor, vowed they will continue the fighting until Ethiopian soldiers withdraw from Somalia.
Abu Mansoor told Shabelle Media Network that the fighting in central regions of Somalia is between what he called factions under the name of religious groups that Ethiopia armed them and his group.
Earlier on Tuesday Ethiopian soldiers arrested dozens of Somali teenagers in Mogadishu and it is not known why the Ethiopian soldiers detained them.
Residents say Ethiopian troops with two tanks entered in parts of Wardhigley district in Mogadishu and took the teenagers with them to the presidential palace.
Ethiopia recently announced its intention to withdraw its troops which entered Somalia in December of 2006 in order to bolster its own security concerns and help the TFG gain stronger governing leverage in the country.
However, Human Rights Watch issued a report on 7 December 2008 saying that Ethiopia' intervention has fueled new attacks and bombings that have encouraged the conflict to spread into neighboring regions and across borders.
Human Rights Watch accused the rival sides in Mogadishu of human rights violations and committing war crimes.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Shabelle Media Network. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
