SOMALIA: Pre-dawn battles in Mogadishu kill 22

Record ID: 375205

  • Title: SOMALIA: Pre-dawn battles in Mogadishu kill 22
  • Date: 22nd August 2009
  • Summary: MEDICAL STAFF WHEELING COVERED BODY
  • Embargoed: 6th September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA24UTSAS3C4M1P5I7W7ZU0U8ZI
  • Story Text: Fighting between Islamist rebels, government forces and African Union peacekeepers in Somalia's capital kills at least 22 people.
    Fighting erupted between Islamist rebels, government forces and African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday (August 21), killing at least 22 people.
    Battles broke out around the city's strategic K4 junction after the insurgents launched a pre-dawn attack on an AU base and on government troops. Witnesses said the clashes spread to three other districts and that most of the dead were civilians.
    The toll was expected to increase as the fighting continued through the morning. Fearful residents cowered in their homes as mortar shells detonated around them and bullets tore into walls.
    "We were here at seven thirty last night when a mortar hit our restaurant and three people were killed including one who works here. Seven others were wounded and they were taken to Medina hospital," Said Isse Omar, a local restaurant owner whose business was hit by a mortar.
    A businessman in Mogadishu's sprawling Bakara Market said five more people had died there when a mortar bomb exploded in a busy restaurant.
    Western security agencies say Somalia, torn by civil war for 18 years, has become a haven for Islamist militants plotting attacks in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
    Adding to the carnage, residents said Ethiopian troops also fought battles on the border in Bakool region with ethnic Somali rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front. Ethiopian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
    The international community wants to bolster the U.N.-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, which is fighting several rebel movements, including al Shabaab. The United States says that group is al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia.
    Battles have been taking place across central and southern regions this week as pro-government militia try to seize towns from al Shabaab and another insurgent group, Hizbul Islam.
    Violence has killed more than 18,000 Somalis since the start of 2007 and driven another 1 million from their homes.
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