12 killed in heavy shelling in Somalia’s capital
Feb 20, 2007 (MOGADISHU) — Mortar rounds and rockets hit Somalia’s capital early Tuesday in a series of attacks that killed 12 people, including a four-year-old boy, and wounded more than 40 others, doctors and witnesses said.
The violence, which erupted after mortar attacks on three Ethiopian and Somali government barracks, was among the worst since Somalia’s government moved into the capital late last year. Somali troops, with the help of soldiers from neighboring Ethiopia, drove out an Islamic group who wanted to rule the country by the Quran.
The presidential palace and seaport were also targeted in attacks. Ethiopian troops returned fire with artillery and heavy machine-gun fire throughout the night.
Doctors at two of Mogadishu’s main hospitals said 42 injured people were hospitalized overnight, seven of them were children. Five were treated early Tuesday.
“Some of the wounded are in a very serious condition with shrapnel wounds all around their body,” said Dr. Dahir Mohamed, of the city’s Medina Hospital.
Mogadishu’s mayor blamed the attacks on remnants of the Islamic movement that was pushed out of Mogadishu and parts of the country’s south earlier this year. The Islamic group has been accused of harboring al-Qaida suspects, which it denies.
The Islamic movement, which still has support in Mogadishu, has vowed to wage an Iraq-style insurgency, and attacks in the capital have happened almost daily in the past month.
But other residents said the casualties were the result of Ethiopian artillery. Many residents say the Islamic group brought a semblance of order to this anarchic nation.
The sound of gunfire could be heard throughout the night.
On Monday, a Somali government anti-terror unit trained by Ethiopian troops went into operation to quell the growing unrest. It is a government plan to fight terrorists and bring them to justice, Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle told The AP.
He refused to provide more details about the unit but another government official said it numbered around 700 soldiers.
Insecurity in Somalia has been growing since the transitional government drove out the rival Islamic movement with Ethiopian military help late last year. Since the government’s return to Mogadishu, insurgents have staged near-daily attacks.
On Sunday, a car exploded in the capital, killing all four occupants. No one has claimed responsibility but witnesses said the car was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from another vehicle. Jelle said the occupants of the car were suicide bombers.
Somalia hasn’t had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy. The transitional government was formed in 2004 with U.N. help.
(AP)