Somalia: Mogadishu explodes again

Bill Weinberg

From Shabelle Media Network via AllAfrica.com, Oct. 27:

More than 15 people mainly civilians and seven Ethiopian soldiers have been killed and many more have been injured after insurgents and government-allied forces battled with different sorts of weapons like, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and other automatic rifles.

Ethiopian troops have been reported encountering fierce resistance from insurgent fighters.

The gun battle had begun after Ethiopian forces launched security operations to houses near by their bases in Ali Kamin and Hamar Bile neighborhoods in south of the embattled capital Mogadishu, on Saturday morning.

Insurgents started lobbing grenades at Ethiopian military patrol sparking an intense battle between Ethiopian troops and insurgent fighters.

Ethiopian forces killed three civilians, on of them trader in separate areas like Ali-kamin neighborhood its surroundings in Wardhiglay district.

Elsewhere, Ethiopian forces positioned at former defence ministry have carried out large-scale security operations in Albaraka and Bar-Ubah areas have also met tough resistance from opposing side.

Residents say, they (Ethiopian forces) armed with armoured vehicles and heavy weaponry have shot and killed garage owner and a restaurant owner in Albarako.

More than 15 people have been injured in today’s fighting and admitted to Medina hospital where they are receiving medical treatment.

Reliable sources confirmed to Shabelle that seven Ethiopian soldiers have also been killed in today’s skirmishes in Somalia Capital.

Somalia’s fragile government has faced an Iraqi-style insurgency of roadside bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks since it routed a hard-line Islamist movement in January with the help of Ethiopia’s military

See our last post on Somalia and the Horn of Africa.

  1. Somalia: Ethiopian troops fire on protesters
    From IOL, South Africa, Oct. 29:

    Mogadishu – Ethiopian forces opened fire on demonstrators protesting against their presence in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing three, witnesses said, as fresh violence engulfed the Somali capital.

    A crowd of hundreds of protesters chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and wielding sticks had been marching in the streets of southern Mogadishu in reaction to the latest Ethiopian crackdown on the insurgency when the deaths occurred.

    “A young boy and two other civilians died when Ethiopian forces in Suqaholaha area opened fire on us. We were demonstrating against them and they opened fire to disperse the crowd,” witness Hussein Adan Suley told reporters.