Somali gunmen attack convoy of Ethiopian troops
Source: Reuters
(Adds witnesses, casualties) By Sahal Abdulle MOGADISHU, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Somali gunmen fired at a convoy of Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu in the latest attack on forces backing the government, threatening efforts to restore effective rule in the chaotic Horn of Africa nation. Saying Mogadishu was "in chaos", President Abdullahi Yusuf appointed officials on Monday to take charge of the city where Somali troops, backed by Ethiopian forces, ousted Islamists in a lightning December offensive. The attack was late on Sunday in the northern Arafat area of the city where Ethiopian soldiers had helped government troops seize guns, explosives and an armoured car hours earlier. A doctor at Madina hospital, who declined to be named, said eight people were wounded while a Somali government source said the 30-minute battle killed three Somali troops. "I saw an Ethiopian truck being hit by an RPG and two Ethiopian bodies being loaded into another truck," witness Dadir Abid told Reuters, adding he was not sure if the Ethiopians were dead or injured. A building was also damaged, he said. "There were four lorries, when one of them passed the gunmen started firing at the other three," witness Aden Mohamoud Gedi said. "At least one Ethiopian soldier was injured. The Ethiopians also killed a mentally ill man who did not heed their orders to stop." He said Ethiopian soldiers later came back to clear the damage, which the government source said included two trucks. Witnesses said several Ethiopian tanks were also moved into the area, where Islamists had fought intense battles to wrest Mogadishu from its warlord rulers in June. It was not clear who carried out the attack in a city where much of the population has guns, although suspicion will fall on Islamist remnants who have vowed guerrilla war. Al Qaeda's deputy leader has urged the Islamists to launch an Iraq-style insurgency against Ethiopian troops. Somali gunmen have fired at Ethiopian soldiers several times this month and crowds have hurled stones and burnt tyres to demonstrate against them. Militia loyal to warlords have also started returning to Mogadishu since the Islamists fled the capital late last month. CITY IN CHAOS Ethiopia wants to withdraw its soldiers in the coming weeks but diplomats fear that would leave the government vulnerable to Islamists who have threatened a guerrilla war, warlords seeking to re-create fiefdoms and competing clans. The government is seeking to install itself in Mogadishu -- one of the world's most dangerous cities -- and faces a huge challenge to bring peace and security to a nation without effective central rule since a dictator was ousted in 1991. Yusuf on Monday appointed a mayor and three other officials to administer the capital: "We see the city is in chaos. It's not safe," he said. Warlords agreed on Friday to merge their forces into a new national army to tame the country, but it remains to be seen whether the deal will turn into reality and help the government in its biggest task -- disarming the country. On Saturday, Somalia's parliament declared a three-month state of emergency to help push that forward. Residents fear Mogadishu could slide back into the anarchy that gripped the city after 1991 and await to see whether the government can impose the relative stability experienced under the Islamists' strict six-month rule. Somalia's government wants African peacekeepers to be deployed as soon as possible and African Union officials were in Somalia this weekend to finalise plans for the force. The African Union's Peace and Security Council has agreed to boost the size of the proposed 8,000-strong deployment and urged the international community to pay for it. Uganda is ready to provide the first battalion, but needs its parliament's approval. Kenya, chair of regional body IGAD, is touring African capitals in search of troop commitments. (Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed and Farah Roble)
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