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****** Somalia: 9 Dead During Insurgent Attack on African Peacekeeper Base
******
4 September 2009
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Mogadishu — The fighting erupted overnight Thursday around ex-Jalle Siyad
College compound, where African Union peacekeepers from Burundi are stationed.
The AU force, known as AMISOM, has been serving in Mogadishu since early 2007
to defend the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) against insurgents.
"Two civilians were killed inside a house in Daynile district [south
Mogadishu], while three [other] civilians were killed at a house near Bakara
Market," said a witness, who reported that more civilians were wounded in both
incidents when shells slammed into homes.
It was unclear where the shells originated from, but heavy artillery was
exchanged between the two sides during the battle, local sources said.
At least 19 wounded civilians were rushed to Mogadishu hospitals for treatment,
according to emergency workers.
AMISOM commanders have not spoken about the latest deadly violence. Somali
insurgent factions Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam have not claimed responsibility
for the attack.
It was not clear whether peacekeepers or insurgents were killed or hurt during
the attack, which comes during Islam's holy month of Ramadan.
The insurgency in Mogadishu and other parts of south-central Somalia threatens
to overthrow the TFG, which is cornered to a few pockets of the seaside capital
but enjoys international support.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis deepens in Somalia with UK-based aid agency
Oxfam reporting that Somali refugee camps inside Somalia and in neighboring
countries are "overcrowded" due to the relentless insurgency.
REPORT:
Overcrowded_and_desperate_camps_in_Somalia,_Kenya_and_Ethiopia_'barely_fit_for
humans'
Somalia has been plagued by civil war, drought and an insurgency since the
early 1990s when a U.N. peacekeeping mission failed to restore order the
chaotic Horn of Africa country.
Copyright © 2009 Garowe Online. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
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