Ethiopian troops kill 3 people in Somalia
Jan 22, 2007 (MOGADISHU) — Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia’s fledgling government killed three people early Monday during a three-hour operation in an area where Ethiopian forces have been attacked in recent days, witnesses said.
The troops were firing at several gunmen who were trying to hide in a house in the Hurwa district, said Mustaf Hassan Ali, who witnessed the shooting. He said the victims were not the gunmen but civilians in the home.
“The Ethiopians fired at the civilians when unknown gunmen sought refuge in their house,” Ali said.
Ethiopian troops have come under fire frequently in recent days in the Hurwa district, which is considered a hotbed of sympathizers for Somalia’s Council of Islamic Courts. The radical group was driven out of the capital and much of southern Somalia last month with the help of powerful troops from neighboring Ethiopia.
On Saturday, gunmen fired machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at an Ethiopian convoy in Hurwa district, but missed. The Ethiopians responded with heavy weapons, killing four bystanders, witnesses and medical officials said.
Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a dictator and turned on each other. The government was formed two years ago with the help of the U.N., but was weakened by internal rifts.
The intervention of Ethiopia prompted a military advance that was a stunning turnaround for the administration, which is trying to assert control in this battle-scarred country. But the potential for violence remains great because of traditional clan rivalries and a threat of guerrilla war from remnants of the Islamic movement.
Many Somalis also resent the Ethiopians’ presence. Somalia, a Muslim country, and Ethiopia, with its large Christian population, fought a brutal war in 1977.
On Sunday, Somalia’s government spokesman said Kenya has handed over 34 Islamic militiamen, and that some of them may be senior leaders of the Islamic movement.
Kenyan border patrols arrested the men in the past few weeks, said Abdirahman Dinari, the government spokesman. He said the government is investigating the identities of the men and will soon make the details public.
The government has invited African peacekeepers to help provide security in Somalia, but they are unlikely to come if fighting continues. African Union officials approved an 8,000-peacekeeper mission on Friday.
(AP)