Somali and Ethiopian troops attacked with mortars
Source: Reuters
(Releads with attack) By Guled Mohamed MOGADISHU, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Mortars were fired at Somali government troops and Ethiopian soldiers in the chaotic capital Mogadishu on Friday, Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle said. The attack follows a series of guerrilla-style assaults on government and Ethiopian troops since they routed Islamists in a December war and seized Mogadishu and the rest of south Somalia. "Extremists fired mortars at our troops and Ethiopian forces, no one was wounded. Our troops retaliated," Jelle told Reuters. "Whenever we are attacked our troops normally retaliate targeting ... the extremists. We cannot know of any casualties from this attack until tomorrow." Many suspect hardcore Islamist remnants who have vowed holy war are behind the attacks. A resident said he saw assailants fire two rockets at Ethiopian soldiers at a former hospital in western Mogadishu. He then heard artillery being fired. "Ethiopian soldiers staying in Digfer hospital have been hit with two rockets," the resident, who declined to be named, said. "They replied ... by firing heavy artillery. The heavy explosions were followed by sporadic shooting." MAN WOUNDED Another resident a kilometre away said he heard artillery being fired. Two people said they had been wounded in fire coming from the direction of the hospital, he said. The near-daily attacks are putting pressure on a government struggling to restore stability in a nation in anarchy since 1991. Earlier, government troops backed by Ethiopian soldiers shot and wounded a man as they cleared a former defence ministry compound. A Somali government source said the operation to clear the compound -- where nearly 100 people lived -- was to allow troops to monitor Mogadishu airport, feared to be a target for insurgents when Ugandan troops arrive to secure the capital. The 1,500-strong Ugandan force, part of an African Union peacekeeping mission, are expected to deploy next week. The man had apparently refused to leave his shop there. A government security source said Ethiopian and government troops were now occupying the building, which has a good view of the airport a few kilometres (miles) away. In southern Somalia, local militia prevented a truck from Medecins Sans Frontieres-Spain from crossing a bridge and shot in the air, but no one was hurt in the incident. (Additional reporting by Tim Cocks in Kampala and Bryson Hull in Nairobi)
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