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| Africa Horn |
| MPs slain as Somali gunmen storm hotel |
| 2010-08-24 |
| Somali gunnies have stormed a Mogadishu hotel and killed 15 parliamentarians inside, in the latest violence that has killed dozens more, authorities say. "They have slaughtered 15 MPs. We are surrounding the hotel area. We want to catch them and our troops are there," legislator Mohamed Hasan said. A hotel worker who fled the building said one of the attackers was a boomer and had blown himself up. Eyewitnesses later said the gunfire had ended and police had entered the hotel. Fighting earlier claimed the lives of 29 civilians in the capital after Al Qaeda-inspired Boskonians launched an offensive the government said was a declaration of war on the Somali people. The government also said it had killed more than 15 Boskonians belonging to Al Shabaab in the worst clashes since July 11, when suicide kabooms in Kampala escalated the conflict. The fighting broke out on Monday afternoon (local time) when Al Shabaab fighters launched an offensive on army barracks in several districts of Mogadishu. The battle resumed the next morning after an overnight lull. "The corpse count increased from 11 to 29 civilians since yesterday," Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu ambulance services, said. "Our medical teams have also collected 98 injured from a number of neighbourhoods." Colonel Mohamed Omar, a Somali government security officer, said government forces were fighting back. "Government forces are inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy," he said. We killed more than 15 of their fighters," he added, without specifying whether the fighting had caused any casualties among his own ranks. Civilians in the seaside Somali capital routinely get caught in the crossfire when government forces, backed by Burundian and Ugandan African Union forces, trade mortar and artillery rounds with the Boskonians. 'Seaside' makes it sound like a nice place to holiday, if it weren't for the artillery fire, boomers and a few other minor annoyances. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #4 government forces, backed by Burundian and Ugandan African Union forces, trade mortar and artillery rounds with the Boskonians. No Lensmen? No wonder they're losing. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-08-24 11:48 |
| #3 government forces, backed by Burundian and Ugandan African Union forces, trade mortar and artillery rounds with the Boskonians. I used to love Bosco as a kid, but it hardly seems like something to go to war over and certainly no basis for a civil government. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-08-24 11:12 |
| #2 It was Mogadishu or Martha's Vineyard. Close call ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2010-08-24 11:05 |
| #1 they pick the shittiest places to take over. |
| Posted by: chris 2010-08-24 09:02 |