Thursday, October 04, 2007
Two people were killed when police patrolling the insecure Bakara market in southern Mogadishu opened fire after coming under a grenade attack, they said. Five others were also wounded.
But another resident blamed the police for shooting indiscriminately and said the grenade went off far from where they were.
A roadside bomb targeting Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu's northern Suqaholaha district exploded and killed two more civilians.
"A heavy explosion occurred as Ethiopian forces raided the neighborhood and two civilians were killed," said Warsame Mohamed, a local resident.
Three civilians were also wounded when insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace but missed the target.
Daily insurgent-led attacks have convulsed Mogadishu since January when the government, backed by Ethiopian forces ousted an Islamist movement that controlled much of southern and central Somalia.
Last month, leaders of a new Islamist-dominated opposition group formed in neighbouring Eritrea vowed to drive off the Ethiopian troops, accusing them of occupying their country.
The Horn of African country has lacked an effective central authority since the 1991 outser of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre triggered cycles of bloodletting that have defied numerous attampts to restore peace.
Source: AFP, Oct 04, 2007