Police and protesters exchanged fire in Mogadishu on Saturday, killing at least one person, a government source said, as hundreds of Somalis demonstrated against Ethiopian troops and a disarmament drive. Protesters hurled stones and burnt tyres, wreathing streets in smoke and reviving memories of the chaos that had largely stopped during six months of strict Islamist rule. “Protesters shot at policemen, the police returned fire killing one man,” a government source said. “I don’t know how many people have been wounded.” A witness said three people had been killed and that Ethiopian troops had opened fire. “The Ethiopians opened fire and shot dead a young boy and a lady, they also killed another person,” the witness said. In the latest show of discontent with the forces that ousted the Islamists, hundreds of Somalis marched through the capital chanting “Down with Ethiopia”. Women waved the Koran while witnesses said children were among the demonstrators.
Ethiopian soldiers fired in the air to disperse crowds and government troops armed with AK-47s patrolled the streets. Somalia’s interim government wants to install itself in Mogadishu, one of the world’s most dangerous cities, after ousting the Islamists last week with the help of Ethiopian tanks, troops and warplanes. Within hours of the Islamists fleeing, militiamen loyal to warlords reappeared at checkpoints in the city where they used to rob and terrorise civilians. Their return showed how easily Mogadishu could slide back into the anarchy and clan violence that has gripped the city since the 1991 ouster of a dictator. “We are against the Ethiopian troops’ occupation. We don’t want them, they should leave,” 20-year-old protester Ahmed Mohamed told Reuters. “They are harassing us in our own country. The government is imposing the Ethiopians on us.”
A hospital source, speaking before the shooting incident, said at least five civilians were hurt. The interim government had given Mogadishu residents until last Thursday to hand in their weapons or be disarmed by force. Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told local radio on Saturday the disarmament programme had been postponed. Few weapons have been handed in as locals wait to see if the government can impose the relative stability experienced under the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC).
The SICC had controlled much of southern Somalia after ousting warlords from Mogadishu last June, but have been forced into hiding after being routed from their strongholds in two weeks of open warfare. They have vowed to fight on, melting into the hills in the remote south where Ethiopian and government forces are hunting hundreds of their fighters.
Kenya has sent troops to seal its frontier, blocking entry to Somalis fleeing fighting. A local official said 23 suspected Islamist fighters, including foreigners, had been arrested. An assistant immigration minister told Reuters five Somali members of parliament had been detained in Nairobi for questioning on suspicion of helping the Islamists. The Ethiopian presence in Somalia was sure to provoke a response from residents, who view the Horn of AfricaÂ’s Christian-led military giant across their border as a rival.