By Abdi Mohamed
Friday, June 06, 2008
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MOGADISHU, June 6 (Reuters) - At least eight people died in new violence in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday, ending a lull that accompanied tentative U.N. peace talks in Djibouti.Residents said security forces opened fire at a group of youths who were looting iron sheets from an abandoned police base in Madina district, in the city's southwest.
"Two boys under the age of 15 were killed and three others were wounded," said witness Abdi Buno. "The stray bullets also killed a woman and two other young boys in the neighbourhood."
Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
In the northern Mogadishu district of Huriwa, one man died when suspected Islamist insurgents attacked Ethiopian troops preparing to distribute food supplies, residents said.
The bodies of two men, bound hand and foot, were discovered earlier on Friday lying in a pool of blood in the capital's sprawling Bakara Market, they said.
Their identities could not immediately be established.
Mogadishu had been relatively quiet while members of the interim government and opposition figures attended talks hosted by the United Nations in neighbouring Djibouti.
But there was little progress at the discussions, and opposition officials demanded Ethiopian troops backing the government leave before face-to-face talks could go ahead.
On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned it saw no immediate improvement in Somalia's humanitarian crisis, which aid workers say may be the worst in Africa.
At least a million people have been displaced by fighting between the interim government and Islamist insurgents since early last year, and their plight has been worsened by record food prices, hyper-inflation and drought. (Additional reporting by Abdi Skeikh; Writing by Aweys Yusuf; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Jon Boyle) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/)
Source: Reuters, June 06, 2008