| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| Mortar Kills Somali Mother, 5 Children |
| 2008-01-01 |
| A mother and her five children were killed Sunday by a mortar round fired during fighting between Somali insurgents and Ethiopian troops. Insurgents attacked bases of Ethiopian troops in the south of the capital with mortars and the Ethiopians fired back, with about 30 mortars fired in all, said Mostaf Abdi Ahmed, a neighbor of the family. "An explosion rocked our neighborhood, then we came out and saw a shack partly on fire and a mother and her five children lying dead," he said. Madey Sufi Mohamed, the husband and father who lost his family, said he had gone to a nearby shop when he heard an explosion and returned home to find his loved ones dead. "It is really tragic, but there is nothing I can do about Allah's will," said Mohamed. In another district in southern Mogadishu, the insurgents fought with government soldiers and also attacked an African Union peacekeeping force base. "Our base ... was attacked, but fortunately our soldiers were alert and we managed to beat the attackers off. None of our soldiers were injured. We cannot tell whether any damage was inflicted on the attackers," said Capt. Paddy Ankunda, the African Union force's spokesman. |
| Posted by:Fred |