From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Mar 27 2009 - 07:18:06 EST
Dozen killed in N Mogadishu fighting
Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:50:40 GMT
More than a dozen people have been killed in fresh clashes between Somali
police and armed groups in the north of capital Mogadishu.
The fighting erupted on Thursday afternoon when armed militias attacked
police bases in Mogadishu's northern Yakhshiid district, leaving some 12
people dead and another 15 injured, Press TV correspondent reported.
The conflicts later spread further to Towfiikh and Fagah neighborhoods as
government soldiers tried to drive back Hsibul Islam gunmen, who also stole
president's special car from the area near the city's Lafweyn Hotel.
Ambulances packed with injured people, including civilians, rushed to
hospitals in and around Mogadishu while scores of people fled their homes
seeking shelter from heavy gun and mortar fire.
The fighting entered a state of chaos as it involved fighters claiming links
with different factions and clans, while artilleries were being shot from
unknown locations.
Meanwhile, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controls vast sways of
Somalia, says it has launched a crackdown on armed bandits and insurgents in
central Somali region of Hiiran.
UIC Deputy Chairman Sheikh Ibrahim Yusuf Sheikh Mohamed confirmed they had
arrested 10 people who engaged in killing innocent civilians and looting
their properties.
He said the arrested were taken to prison in Beledweyne town and would soon
go on trail.
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