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Somali capital clashes
kill 12 as thousands flee |
February 20,
2007
MOGADISHU (AFX)
- Fierce artillery battles between security
forces and suspected Islamists killed at
least 12 people in Somalia's capital
overnight and forced thousands to flee,
officials said Tuesday.
The fighting was the heaviest in the coastal
city since Ethiopian troops helped Somali
government fighters oust the powerful
Islamist movement from Mogadishu late last
year.
Deputy Defence Minister Salat Ali Jelle said
gunmen attacked the defence ministry
building, the presidential palace and the
military hospital, all in southern
Mogadishu.
Witnesses said the fighting began with
mortar attacks in several districts where
shells exploded in houses, killing several
civilians and wounding dozens. One assault
was around the Digfer hospital, which has
become an Ethiopian base.
Ethiopian troops retaliated with heavy
artillery and at least 36 people were
injured, according to residents and hospital
staff, while large numbers were fleeing the
capital, with some putting the figure in the
thousands.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for
the attacks, but the transitional government
of the Horn of Africa nation has repeatedly
blamed insurgents allied to ousted Islamist
hardliners for such violence.
Copyright AFX News Limited 2006
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