Militants from the Hizbul Islam patrol the streets of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, January 27, 2010. Fighting killed at least 18 people in two towns in central Somalia where rebels battled a pro-government militia and each other, according to witnesses.
Reports that 14 people had been killed and 35 wounded could not be independently verified. Medical officials said most of the casualties had been civilians whose houses were hit by mortar fire. Some of the fire appeared to have come from African Union peacekeepers and government troops.
Ali Musa, head of a volunteer ambulance service in the capital, said those victims included a mother and her two children who died in the shelling.
The attack came as the transitional government prepared to mark its first anniversary with a parade, poetry readings and celebrations at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. It was not clear whether the assault was timed to coincide with the anniversary festivities, but the attack offered another reminder of the government’s weakening grip on security.
The militants began their attack about 2 a.m. Friday. Residents, jolted awake by mortar blasts, cowered in their homes or fled for sturdier concrete structures as explosions and gunshots echoed through the north and south ends of Mogadishu for hours.
Residents described it as the most serious fighting in months. “I thought I was dreaming when I heard the sound of the artillery,” said Asha Abdulle, a mother of four.
Militants from the rebel group Shabab and an allied group, Hizbul Islam, claimed responsibility in a statement, saying that they had assaulted “the strongholds of the enemies of Allah.”
The Shabab, some branches of which have ties to Al Qaeda, have seized control of much of southern Somalia and have carried out suicide bombings and frontal attacks against Somali officials and peacekeeping troops as they seek to unseat the country’s fragile government.
A police spokesman, Col. Abdullahi Barisse, said that government forces had pushed back the rebels. He declined to say whether any government troops had been hurt or killed. The Shabab said that two of their fighters had been killed.
The United States and other Western countries are trying to support the moderate Islamic government of the president, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, fearful that Somalia could become the next haven for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. But Mr. Ahmed’s year-old government controls only a few city blocks in an impoverished nation plagued by drought, famine and years of fighting between warlords and rival Islamic factions.
In addition to attacks on government forces, militants have launched mortar assaults on the country’s main airport and bombed a college graduation ceremony, and fighters lurk just a few hundred yards outside the walls of the presidential palace.
Western powers have spent millions of dollars on weapons and training for the Somali defense forces, but rampant defections and military victories by Shabab rebels and their allies — who control some two-thirds of the country — have sharply limited the Somali government’s power, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
DTN News: Somalia TODAY January 30, 2010 ~ Islamic Insurgents Attack Troops in the Somali Capital
DTN News: Somalia TODAY January 30, 2010 ~ Islamic Insurgents Attack Troops in the Somali Capital
*Source: DTN News / NY Times By MOHAMMED IBRAHIM January 29, 2010
(NSI News Source Info) MOGADISHU, Somalia - January 30, 2010: Islamic insurgents who control much of rural Somalia launched an early-morning attack on international peacekeepers and government soldiers in this battered capital on Friday, trading fire for hours in a street battle. Militants from the Hizbul Islam patrol the streets of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, January 27, 2010. Fighting killed at least 18 people in two towns in central Somalia where rebels battled a pro-government militia and each other, according to witnesses.
Reports that 14 people had been killed and 35 wounded could not be independently verified. Medical officials said most of the casualties had been civilians whose houses were hit by mortar fire. Some of the fire appeared to have come from African Union peacekeepers and government troops.
Ali Musa, head of a volunteer ambulance service in the capital, said those victims included a mother and her two children who died in the shelling.
The attack came as the transitional government prepared to mark its first anniversary with a parade, poetry readings and celebrations at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. It was not clear whether the assault was timed to coincide with the anniversary festivities, but the attack offered another reminder of the government’s weakening grip on security.
The militants began their attack about 2 a.m. Friday. Residents, jolted awake by mortar blasts, cowered in their homes or fled for sturdier concrete structures as explosions and gunshots echoed through the north and south ends of Mogadishu for hours.
Residents described it as the most serious fighting in months. “I thought I was dreaming when I heard the sound of the artillery,” said Asha Abdulle, a mother of four.
Militants from the rebel group Shabab and an allied group, Hizbul Islam, claimed responsibility in a statement, saying that they had assaulted “the strongholds of the enemies of Allah.”
The Shabab, some branches of which have ties to Al Qaeda, have seized control of much of southern Somalia and have carried out suicide bombings and frontal attacks against Somali officials and peacekeeping troops as they seek to unseat the country’s fragile government.
A police spokesman, Col. Abdullahi Barisse, said that government forces had pushed back the rebels. He declined to say whether any government troops had been hurt or killed. The Shabab said that two of their fighters had been killed.
The United States and other Western countries are trying to support the moderate Islamic government of the president, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, fearful that Somalia could become the next haven for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. But Mr. Ahmed’s year-old government controls only a few city blocks in an impoverished nation plagued by drought, famine and years of fighting between warlords and rival Islamic factions.
In addition to attacks on government forces, militants have launched mortar assaults on the country’s main airport and bombed a college graduation ceremony, and fighters lurk just a few hundred yards outside the walls of the presidential palace.
Western powers have spent millions of dollars on weapons and training for the Somali defense forces, but rampant defections and military victories by Shabab rebels and their allies — who control some two-thirds of the country — have sharply limited the Somali government’s power, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians.
Militants from the Hizbul Islam patrol the streets of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, January 27, 2010. Fighting killed at least 18 people in two towns in central Somalia where rebels battled a pro-government militia and each other, according to witnesses.
Reports that 14 people had been killed and 35 wounded could not be independently verified. Medical officials said most of the casualties had been civilians whose houses were hit by mortar fire. Some of the fire appeared to have come from African Union peacekeepers and government troops.
Ali Musa, head of a volunteer ambulance service in the capital, said those victims included a mother and her two children who died in the shelling.
The attack came as the transitional government prepared to mark its first anniversary with a parade, poetry readings and celebrations at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. It was not clear whether the assault was timed to coincide with the anniversary festivities, but the attack offered another reminder of the government’s weakening grip on security.
The militants began their attack about 2 a.m. Friday. Residents, jolted awake by mortar blasts, cowered in their homes or fled for sturdier concrete structures as explosions and gunshots echoed through the north and south ends of Mogadishu for hours.
Residents described it as the most serious fighting in months. “I thought I was dreaming when I heard the sound of the artillery,” said Asha Abdulle, a mother of four.
Militants from the rebel group Shabab and an allied group, Hizbul Islam, claimed responsibility in a statement, saying that they had assaulted “the strongholds of the enemies of Allah.”
The Shabab, some branches of which have ties to Al Qaeda, have seized control of much of southern Somalia and have carried out suicide bombings and frontal attacks against Somali officials and peacekeeping troops as they seek to unseat the country’s fragile government.
A police spokesman, Col. Abdullahi Barisse, said that government forces had pushed back the rebels. He declined to say whether any government troops had been hurt or killed. The Shabab said that two of their fighters had been killed.
The United States and other Western countries are trying to support the moderate Islamic government of the president, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, fearful that Somalia could become the next haven for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. But Mr. Ahmed’s year-old government controls only a few city blocks in an impoverished nation plagued by drought, famine and years of fighting between warlords and rival Islamic factions.
In addition to attacks on government forces, militants have launched mortar assaults on the country’s main airport and bombed a college graduation ceremony, and fighters lurk just a few hundred yards outside the walls of the presidential palace.
Western powers have spent millions of dollars on weapons and training for the Somali defense forces, but rampant defections and military victories by Shabab rebels and their allies — who control some two-thirds of the country — have sharply limited the Somali government’s power, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians.
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