Publication date: Wednesday, 24th September, 2008
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Rescuers assist the injured after clashes in Mogadishu on Monday |
By Vision reporter
and agencies
MOGADISHU - Six bodies were recovered in the Somali capital Mogadishu yesterday, bringing the death toll to 13 in overnight clashes between Ugandan peace-keepers and Islamist rebels, according to the French press agency AFP.
At least seven civilians were killed earlier as heavily-armed insurgents attacked the peace-keepers’ base in southern Mogadishu on Tuesday night. “Six civilians, one of them a young girl, died near a school in Bakara overnight. The victims were trying to take cover from the falling shells,” said resident Abdiaziz Mohamed Dirie.
Fartun Moalim Yusuf, whose sister was among the fatalities, gave a harrowing account of the fighting that saw the peace-keepers use tanks for the first time since they were deployed in March 2007.
“It was a horrible moment, we escaped from our house to hide in a concrete building nearby but unfortunately that did not save her. She was torn to pieces with five other civilians,” she said.
Medical sources in the capital’s Madina Hospital said at least 30 civilians were wounded.
The Ugandan peace-keepers serving under the AU peace-keeping mission, however, said they only defended themselves after being attacked by unidentified gunmen. “We have only defended ourselves when under attack. We refuse to be drawn into this senseless war,” said spokesman Maj. Barigye Bahoku.
He added that they repulsed the attackers without any casualties on their side and recovered 12 SMG guns, a 60mm mortar and ammunition from the insurgents. Bahoku denied allegations that they used tanks in the fighting.
“We only used tanks to escort the troops that moved from the airport to K4, as a way of scaring off those who had been attacking us consistently in the past days.”
He, instead, accused the militants of being responsible for most of the casualties.
“Those attacking our positions are responsible for the civilian casualties. One of their mortars last night landed on a residential house. It might have been deliberate, to turn the population against us.”
The latest bloodshed brought the death toll to 42 since Monday.
Residents said the exact number could be higher because many civilians were unaccounted for and the warring sides did not release details of fatalities.
The clashes also forced hundreds of families to leave their homes with many following those displaced earlier to Mogadishu’s outskirts. An Islamist group called Mujahideens of Raskamboni said it attacked the peace-keepers.
“It was a retaliatory attack against the African forces and it was the heaviest waged against them,” spokesman Mohamoud Dulyadeyn told reporters.
He added that the group, one of the many Islamist outfits in Somalia, “operates in Somali territories carrying out attacks against the enemy of Allah.”
Ethiopian troops intervened to prop up the feeble Somali government at the end of 2006 and eventually drove the Islamists from much of the country’s southern and central regions. Since then, the Islamists have killed numerous government officials and vowed to fight until the Ethiopians, whom they regard as occupiers, withdraw.
Addis Ababa has pledged to pull out its forces after the UN deploys an international force to bolster the African Union troops from Burundi and Uganda.
The AU has about 2,500 peace-keepers in Mogadishu, short by 8,000 troops it pledged. The conflict and recurrent drought has left at least 3.2 million in need of humanitarian support.
But widespread insecurity and the kidnapping of aid workers have hindered humanitarian operations, deepening the misery in the country.
Meanwhile, the US Navy yesterday said it appeared pirates had tried to attack one of its military oil tankers, off the Somali coast, Reuters reported.
A security team aboard the vessel opened fire on two small boats near Somalia after they ignored warnings and pursued the ship, a US Fifth Fleet spokesman said.
“From all appearances it does look like it was a pirate attack and the incident is currently under investigation,” he said by telephone from Bahrain.
He said the Military Sealift Command oil tanker, which usually carries fuel for the US armed forces, was transiting outside Somalia’s territorial waters when the incident took place.
The navy said warnings were given before the security team opened fire on the skiffs which came within 370 metres of the tanker. The skiffs retreated and there were no casualties, it said.
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