Somali Police Open Fire, Killing 2 Civilians, After Station Was Bombed, Witnesses Say
Thursday, May 24, 2007
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Somali police shot and killed two civilians after attackers hurled a hand grenade at a police station, witnesses said. No officers were hurt.
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The grenade attack was in northern Mogadishu, where there is support for a radical Islamic group that ruled for six quiet months in 2006 before being driven from power by Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies.Police opened fire with assault rifles and "two civilians who were sitting in front of my pharmacy were killed, one was hit in the chest and the other in the head," said Aydurus Ali Mohamed. "They both died instantly."
Aden Mohamed, an officer at the station, said the grenade landed just inside the station's gate. He said no officers were hurt, and did not comment on the civilian deaths.
Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned against each other. The current administration, called the Transitional Federal Government, was established in 2004 with backing from the United Nations, but has struggled to assert control.
Just weeks ago, the government declared victory over Islamic insurgents who have vowed to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war unless the country becomes an Islamic state. Battles killed at least 1,670 people between March 12 and April 26 and drove about a fifth of Mogadishu's 2 million residents to flee for safety.
The insurgents are linked to the ousted Islamic group, called the Council of Islamic Courts.
Source: AP, May 24, 2007