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| Africa Horn |
| Violence in Mogadishu kills at least 16 (today) |
| 2010-04-28 |
| MOGADISHU - A landmine killed one person and wounded eight in a rare attack on a mosque in the Somali capital on Tuesday, a day of chaotic violence that left at least another 15 people dead and scores wounded. Witnesses said the mine exploded as worshippers were going to the Abu Hureyra mosque in Bakara Market, an area used as a base by rebels fighting the government and African Union (AU) peackeeping troops in Somalia. Residents said nine people died when mortar shells hit a house in the south of the city, two rebels and a government soldier were killed in fighting near Bakara Market and two AU soldiers were wounded when they stopped a suicide bomber from ramming a truck laden with explosives into their base. “We have received 57 injured people today. Three of them died in the hospital,' Mohamed Yusuf, director of the Madina Hospital, told Reuters. It was not clear who was behind the mosque explosion, though residents suspected it might have been infighting between the two insurgent groups that dominate the Bakara Market. No, really? “We hear about explosions at mosques in Iraq, so this is an amazing thing to happen in Somalia,' witness Abdallahi said. Hizbul Islam and al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab are the two main rebel groups in Somalia. While the two frequently clash in the south of the country for control of strategic towns, they are usually on the same side against the government in the capital. “They claim to be religious. But clerics don't behead, kill and detonate people,' said Mogadishu resident Mohamed. Can't imagine he said that with a straight face ... “It really is terrible, this could stop people going to mosques.' That might not be such a bad thing ... Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing on Tuesday that targeted a new African Union base set up last week in the Shangani area of the capital, north of the presidential palace. An AU peacekeeping force made up of soldiers from Uganda and Burundi is propping up the government in Mogadishu, and guarding key sites such as the airport and seaport. Major Barigye Ba-hoku, spokesman for the AU force, said the vehicle was blown up before it could ram into the new base, which is manned by Ugandan soldiers. “We have foiled the attempt, we have destroyed the would-be suicide car bomb. Two of our soldiers who destroyed the car sustained minor injuries,' he told Reuters. |
| Posted by:Steve White |