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'UPDF Somalia Mission Plane Was Shot At'

New Vision (Kampala)
NEWS
March 13, 2007
Posted to the web March 14, 2007

By Vision Reporter and Agencies
Kampala
THE plane carrying Ugandan soldiers and equipment that caught fire in the
Somali capital Mogadishu last Friday was attacked, the Government of Belarus
has confirmed.
Earlier, the UPDF had stated that the fire on the plane could have been caused
by a technical fault. The Ilyushin-76 aircraft, belonging to the state-run
Transavia export, caught fire after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in
the approach to the landing strip, according to a statement from the transport
ministry of Belarus.
The plane landed safely and none of the 15 people aboard, nine crew and six
UPDF soldiers, were injured.
The assailant was believed to have fired the rocket, normally meant for use
against ground targets, from a small boat while the plane passed at a height of
about 150 metres, the statement said.
Islamist fighters had claimed the attack on Friday on the Internet, saying that
their targets were African Union (AU) peacekeepers on the plane whom they
described as "invading troops."
Experts have flown from Belarus to inspect the aircraft, which was seriously
damaged by the blast and the fire.
Meanwhile, mortar rounds crashed into Somalia's presidential palace yesterday,
hours after President Abdullahi Yusuf arrived in the capital Mogadishu amid
tight security.
"It is true," said UPDF spokesperson Capt. Paddy Ankunda by telephone from
Mogadishu last night.
"The palace was attacked while the President was inside. Two soldiers were
killed. The President is unharmed and the attackers were beaten off."
Residents said government troops and their Ethiopian allies based at the
hilltop Villa Somalia compound immediately returned fire with artillery guns.
At least five civilians were reportedly killed by stray bullets.
Earlier in the day, four people died in two separate attacks, an Ethiopian
soldier and the other in the car of the city's deputy mayor.
A group of gunmen ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy south of the Somali
capital, sparking a heavy gun battle.
"Two people were killed, including a woman, after they were hit by stray
bullets," said a neighbour of deceased woman Asha Mohammed, who collected her
body from the street.
"The body of the other man is abandoned in the street," witness Muhudin Ali
told AFP.
One witness said nine people had been wounded.
Ahmed Moalim Mohammed said the shooting started after an Ethiopian vehicle ran
over a landmine, and that the Ethiopian troops responded to the attack with
heavy fire.
"The Ethiopians suffered some casualties, but we do not know how many. The
shootout was extremely heavy and we thought this would lead to all-out war,"
said Mohammed Ismail.
"Some of the wounded are in a serious situation and have been rushed to Banadir
hospital," he added.
In another attack in the city centre, the car of deputy mayor Omar Ibrahim
Saweye burst into flames, killing two more people. Islamists had previously
threatened the deputy mayor, who is also in charge of Mogadishu's security, in
leaflets and on a website.
The Ethiopian troops, who helped Somali forces drive out an Islamist movement
last December, have started withdrawing from the war-torn nation as Ugandan
troops are taking over security of the government and government installations.
A total of 1,300 Ugandan soldiers had by yesterday landed in the country.
The attack on their plane last Friday was the third since they arrived a week
ago.


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