Car explodes in Mogadishu, four killed-witnesses
Source: Reuters
(Adds attack) By Sahal Abdulle MOGADISHU, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A car exploded in Mogadishu on Sunday killing its four occupants and assailants shot dead a Somali government soldier, witnesses said, in the latest violence in the chaotic city hit by near-daily attacks. The car blew up near a soccer stadium in the north of the Somali capital, where hundreds of people have fled their homes to escape bloodshed after government troops, backed by Ethiopian forces, ousted Islamists in a December war. The violence underlines the huge challenge facing President Abdullahi Yusuf's government in trying to tame a nation in anarchy since a dictator was ousted in 1991. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. "When we heard the explosion, we thought a mortar had hit the area and people started fleeing without closing their shops," shopkeeper Mohamed Hussein said. "The car is in pieces. The trunk of the car and the roof were blown apart by the explosion. I saw four skulls and bones lying in the car." A Reuters cameraman saw the charred remains of the car and the dead. "The wreckage is still smouldering," he said. In another incident, assailants in a truck opened fire on a car carrying Somali government soldiers, killing one soldier and injuring two, a resident said. "A truck came behind the car with government soldiers and opened fire, killing one and wounding two," said the resident, who declined to be named. A Reuters witness saw the body of a dead soldier but it could not immediately be confirmed by police what had happened. ISLAMISTS BLAMED Officials blame the Mogadishu violence on remnants of the Islamist movement defeated in the brief war. The attacks have mainly targeted government installations and the interim administration's Ethiopian allies with mortars, grenades and gunfire. But civilians have been the main victims. Some Islamist fighters have vowed holy war since being routed from the strongholds they had controlled since June and have threatened to attack any foreign troops dispatched to the Horn of Africa nation. Some 1,500 Ugandan troops are to deploy within days to the city as part of an African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission to restore stability. Although some Somalis welcome their arrival, others feel the force will not achieve much. Burundi's army said on Sunday the central African nation would also deploy troops and an advance mission could go in days. "Burundi will supply 1,700 troops and the first elements are expected to leave next week," Burundi army spokesman Colonel Adolphe Manirakiza said, adding that an additional 80 army officers would also be sent. Diplomats have urged rich nations to back and fund the AU mission but only about 4,000 troops have been pledged of the 8,000 called for. (Additional reporting by Patrick Nduwimana in Bujumbura)
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