Sunday, March 11, 2007
Policemen in southwestern Mogadishu, capital city of Somalia, opened fire at new colleagues approaching their station, sparking a gun battle, the Shabelle Media Network reported.
The shootout stopped after the policemen realized the approaching men were new government troops, witnesses were quoted as saying.
According to the report, the troops were part of the 4,000-strong forces sent by the transitional government to reinforce security in Mogadishu.
The capital has been a theatre of pitched artillery battles since January when joint Ethiopian-Somali forces ousted an Islamist movement from the country's southern and central regions.
Also on Saturday, two civilians were shot dead in two attacks by unidentified militants, while government security forces exchanged fire with tribal forces in northern Mogadishu during an operation to remove illegal road barriers.
On Friday, one person was killed and another was wounded in a bomb explosion in northern Mogadishu. The victims were believed to be militants who detonated the bomb unexpectedly.
The recent cases serve as a reminder of the arduous task that African Union peacekeepers face in pacifying the African country.
Around 1,000 Ugandan soldiers have already arrived in Mogadishu, where a radical Islamist commander has vowed to kill them.
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords threw the country into anarchy. The transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help in the hope of restoring order.
Source: Xinhua, Mar 11, 2007