SOMALI LINKS
|
Blasts Kill 5 in Somali Capital Mogadishu
25/07/07,
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Two separate explosions killed at least five civilians in the
Somali capital, where the government is struggling to contain a lethal insurgency, witnesses
said Friday.
In one blast late Thursday, a gunman lobbed a hand grenade at a tea shop in the Hurwa district,
a hotbed of support for an Islamic group that ruled much of southern Somalia for six months
last year.
''The bomb went off among dozens of men,'' said Muhiyadin Ga'amey, a witness. Three people
died and five were wounded, he said.
Also Thursday, a land mine exploded in southern Mogadishu after a government convoy drove by,
killing two people and wounding three, said Hussein Haji Jibril, who witnessed the blast.
Mogadishu has seen little peace since the Council of Islamic Courts was driven out in December
by Ethiopian troops supporting this country's fragile government. Roadside bombs, attacks on
government installations, assassination attempts and gunbattles have become common, and
civilians often are caught in the crossfire.
Insurgents linked to the Islamic courts have vowed to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war
until the country becomes an Islamic state. They have staged near-daily attacks against the
government and its Ethiopian backers. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the capital.
Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said ''many stakeholders'' from the Islamic movement were
attending an ongoing National Reconciliation Conference meant to heal the wounds from 16
years of war. The Islamic movement's leadership has denounced the conference, which has
also been targeted by insurgents since it began July 18.
Gedi spoke during an unexpected trip to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The European Union said it would give $13.7 million to help thousands of displaced Somalis.
The funds will provide food, water and sanitation to some of the 1.5 million Somalis
affected by violence and inclement weather, the 27-nation bloc's executive arm said.
The EU Commission has provided Somalia humanitarian aid worth more than $45 million since 2005,
including an emergency allocation of $5.5 million last month.
On Thursday, a U.N. report said Islamic insurgents have enough surface-to-air missiles,
suicide vests and explosives to sustain their war against the Somali government,
largely due to secret shipments from Eritrea.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said Eritrea has shipped a
''huge quantity of arms'' to the insurgents, known as the Shabab. The
shipments have continued, despite U.N. efforts to bring peace.
Eritrea denied providing assistance to the Shabab, the militant wing of the
Islamic courts. U.S. officials believe the militants have close ties to al-Qaida.
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 United Nations, but has struggled to assert any
real control.
Source:the new york times
Ogadennews.com -
CONTACT BY EMAIL
|
SOMALI MAQAAL
|
Doollo Suugaan
Shirkii odayaal
dhaqameedka ee ay London ku qabteen halkan ka dhageyso
isaga oo cod ah
