By Guled Mohamed
Saturday, February 10, 2007
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MOGADISHU, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Grenade and mortar attacks killed three children on Saturday in fresh post-war violence in the Somali capital Mogadishu, residents said.
Witnesses said two children died when a mortar landed on their home in the south of the coastal city, and a girl was killed when unknown assailants fired rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) into a hotel hosting reconciliation talks in the north.
"Two children died when a mortar hit their house and many other people were wounded. Many lost limbs," one resident who declined to be named told Reuters by telephone from Buula Hubey, a southern neighbourhood near Mogadishu's international airport.
Witnesses said at least four other children were among the injured, their wounds mainly caused by shrapnel.
Another local, Ahmed Abdi, said Ethiopian troops based in the area returned fire with heavy weaponry.
"The Ethiopians fired back artillery in answer," he said by telephone. "They are firing from their base in Banadir hospital at a former military compound."
Meanwhile, two RPGs fired in the north of the city blew up in a hotel restaurant, killing a young girl and wounding a waiter, a clan elder taking part in the talks said.
"They did not explode inside the hotel itself. We are fine," he said, adding that police at the hotel had returned fire.
It was the second attack on a Mogadishu hotel in as many days and underlined the volatility of the Horn of Africa nation, where an offensive by Somali government and Ethiopian forces ousted an Islamist movement over the New Year.
Civilians have been the main victims of the frequent attacks, which Somalia's interim government has blamed on fugitive Islamists, some of whom have vowed to wage a holy war.
Diplomats have urged the world to back and fund an African Union (AU) mission to stabilise the country, but only about 4,000 troops have so far been pledged of the 8,000 called for.
Uganda was the first country to offer soldiers, but its parliament still has to ratify that. Nigeria and Burundi have also expressed willingness to contribute.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Mogadishu on Friday, threatening to attack any peacekeepers sent to Somalia, stoking fears in many African capitals that an AU force could be targeted by Muslim radicals including foreign jihadists.
Washington, which has acknowledged two air-strikes in south Somalia in recent weeks targeting al Qaeda suspects among fugitive Islamists, is strongly backing the idea of an African force in a nation it fears could be a haven for terrorists.
Source: Reuters, Feb 10, 2007