29 July 2010 / AP, MOGADISHU KAMPALA
An emergency official in Somalia’s capital says 11 civilians have been killed in a gunbattle between Islamist militants and government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers.
Mogadishu ambulance service chief Ali Muse said Wednesday the death toll of Tuesday’s fighting included two children and four women. He said 45 others were also wounded, including seven women hurt after a mortar crashed into a jewelry section of the capital’s largest market, Bakara. Shelling is a near-daily occurrence in Mogadishu. Islamic insurgents have been trying for three years to overthrow the fragile, UN-backed government, which is holed up in a small section of the capital.International rights groups have decried the deadly impact on civilians. Meanwhile, African leaders are pledging thousands of new troops for Somalia to fight al-Qaida-linked militants responsible for the twin World Cup bombings that killed 76 people, and the US says it will help bankroll the military campaign. But internal documents obtained by The Associated Press show that that African Union forces and Somali troops don’t trust one another, and that Somalia’s government “lacks consistency, coherence and coordination,” raising questions about whether more AU troops can solve the Somali impasse.
