6 killed in separate battles in Somali capital

6 killed in separate battles in Somali capital
16 Jul 16, 2007 - 2:02:58 PM



MOGADISHU, Somalia: At least six soldiers and civilians were killed and five others wounded on Monday in two separate battles in the Somali capital's main market, officials said.

A soldier and two civilians were killed in fighting among government soldiers who had disagreed on how to handle civilians during a search for arms in Bakara market, said Capt. Mohamud Aden Issaq. One soldier threw a grenade at a rival group of government soldiers, Issaq said.

"We told them (the rival group of government soldiers) to treat civilians well and they were behaving badly and we could not tolerate that, which is why we have clashed," Issaq told The Associated Press.

Later, suspected insurgents threw grenades at soldiers, who responded by firing towards the suspected insurgents but killed three civilians, said Col. Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed, a government soldier.

"When their bodies (the civilians) were taken by their relatives they had bullet wounds, so I think they were killed when government soldiers fired at suspected insurgents," Mohamed told The Associated Press.

Dr. Mohamed Osman Burane, the director of Medina Hospital, said that some of the five civilians wounded in the two separate battles told hospital staff that six people were killed.

Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Dheere denied that government soldiers were responsible for killing any civilians.

"Soldiers have a right to defend themselves when they come under attack," Dheere told The Associated Press.

Government soldiers have been searching for arms in Bakara Market over the past 12 days. Officials have said the market is a stronghold of insurgents because some of the businessmen based there are from the same clan as the insurgents, the Ayr.

Mogadishu has seen little peace since government troops backed by Ethiopian forces drove an Islamic movement out of the city in December. Roadside bombs, attacks on government installations, assassination attempts and gunbattles have become common, and civilians are caught in the crossfire.

The Council of Islamic Courts ruled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for six months last year before being pushed out. But insurgents linked to the group have vowed to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war unless the country becomes an Islamic state.

Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned against one another, defending clan fiefdoms. The government was formed in 2004 with the help of the UN, but has struggled to assert its authority.