|
MOGADISHU, (Insidesomalia.org) - Widespread searches by Ethiopian troops is underway in a number of nierghbourhoods in the Somali capital Mogadishu Friday following bloody confrontation between them and suspected Islamist insurgents overnight in the south of the city leaving two civilians dead and dozens wounded, residents said.
Thousands Ethiopian fanned out of their base in the former Somali defense ministry building in Hodon district and tried to undertake house to house hunt for fighters and explosives but met stiff resistance from insurgents, according to residents.
“They (Ethiopians) came to our nieghbourhood and began searching houses but the resistance (Insurgents) fought them back and they started to retreat back to their bases”, Omar Yonis, an eyewitness told Insidesomalia, “heavy weapons were used in the clashes”.
The Ethiopian soldiers were in Black Sea, Bar-Ubah,Towfiq and Industrial Street areas in the south of the restive coastal city of Mogadishu.
The searches come only hours following heavy clashes between insurgents and the Ethiopian troops irrupted early Thursday evening after the insurgents attacked Ethiopian army barrack in Mogadishu.
Residents in the area and hospital sources say that two civilians were killed after stray bullets hit them in their homes and injured unknown number of others. It is not clear if any of the warring sides sustained casualties as both sides do not often talk to the media on the casualties on their sides.
The latest flare of violence follows two days of relative calm after the city saw the worst clashes in the capital many months prompting many of the city’s two million inhabitants to flee. Nearly a hundred civilians left the city to seek shelter in make shift camps on the outskirts of the city, according to UN report.
Somali has not had an effective national authority since the over throw of the late ruler Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991.
 |
News in English 
Subscribe to this comment's feed