Somalia: Dozen kills in deadly fighting

Published on Tuesday 17th June 2008

Somalia: At leaset 34 persons have died in fresh clashes that erupted between the Ethiopian army troops and Somali insurgents in northern Mogadishu.

In another deadly attack the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) killed 17 Ethiopian troops piling the dead up in one mass grave in the Somali capital, Mugadishu.

Correspondents reported that the northern Mogadishu clashes also left 44 Ethiopians seriously injured.

The fierce battle, which took place between Pasta and Heyle Barrise bases, forced the Ethiopian soldiers out of the bases.

The victims, including 10 civilians, 17 Ethiopian soldiers and 7 insurgents, were killed in clashes around Gur Gurte Hotel in northern Mogadishu, according to agency reports.

Hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers who were entering the hotel in Fagah district in northern Mogadishu were greeted with gunfire by militants.

A number of helicopters hovered over the region during the clashes.

The exchange of fire between the warring parties forced hundreds of women and children to flee the area.

The UIC members as saying that they had been equipped with anti-tank missiles "through the agency of a friendly county".

Aided by the Ethiopian, Ugandan and Kenyan soldiers, the Somali interim government has been struggling to maintain order in the war-wrecked country which has done without an effective government since the ouster of president Siad Barre in 1991.

UIC have also expressed its determination to force all the Ethiopian soldiers into a retreat from the county.