SOMALIA: Fighting in capital Mogadishu claims eleven lives

Record ID: 375115

  • Title: SOMALIA: Fighting in capital Mogadishu claims eleven lives
  • Date: 18th August 2010
  • Summary: MORE OF PEOPLE IN CAMP
  • Embargoed: 2nd September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: War / Fighting
  • Reuters ID: LVABGWUEUL7RFTYCQ2TN8VVKNIYV
  • Story Text: At least 11 people died and 53 others were injured when Somali insurgents and pro-government troops engaged Al Shabaab fighters on Monday (August 17), ambulance services officials said.
    Western security agencies say Somalia, which has been torn by civil war for the past 18 years, has become a haven for militants plotting attacks in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
    During the fighting, four brothers lost their lives while others from the same family were seriously injured and were receiving treatment at a local hospital. Family members were busy preparing the bodies for burial.
    Head of ambulance services Ali Muse said there could be many more casualties in addition to those recovered from the streets so far.
    "Since fighting started yesterday until now, we have collected more than 50 injured civilians from different parts of Mogadishu and taken them to hospital for treatment," Ali Muse said. "During the operation we were able to collect nine bodies that included women and children."
    At Medina hospital, doctors were busy treating injured civilians as ambulances brought more injured for specialised care.
    The United States accuses al Shabaab of being al Qaeda's proxy in the instable nation.
    The international community is trying to bolster the U.N.-backed government, which controls only parts of the central region and small pockets of the coastal capital Mogadishu.
    Violence in Somalia has killed more than 18,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and uprooted another 1 million.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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