(SomaliNet) The commander of the Ethiopian forces in central Somalia, Colonel Magow has escaped unharmed after unknown militiamen attacked him as he was driving through Dhuso-mareb city, 500km north of the capital Mogadishu. Reports say on Sunday. Witnesses told Somalinet that unidentified gunmen threw two hand grenades at the colonel’s car but missed the target. One of the bombs defused while the other exploded. Bashir Abdulahi Nor, one of the security officials in Dhuso-mareb city, the provincial capital of Galgadud region in central Somalia said the attack was aimed to assassinate the colonel whose name was not mentioned. “The bomb went off as the Ethiopian commander was riding his small luxury car inside the city around 9:20 pm local time but the explosion has caused no casualty and the commander survived,” said Nor.
Soon after the incident, eleven people have been arrested for suspicion of the latest attack on the security forces and now they are being held at the police station for investigation. It is not yet known who was behind the attack on the Ethiopian army chief but this was an action of troublemakers who oppose the peace and stability in the country, said Nor.
He confirmed that people in the city today took to the streets in protest of the last nightÂ’s attack on the Ethiopian commander. But other independent sources say that the rally was against the arrests made by the government forces in the city. The Ethiopian soldiers began searching house-to-house in Dhuso-mareb to find the attackers.