From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sun Sep 07 2008 - 13:21:37 EDT
7 Somalis killed in Baidoa clashes
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:53:03 GMT
Baidoa is once again the scene of heavy fighting.
At least 7 people have been killed as fighting continues between police and local fighters in the south central Somali town of Baidoa.
According to witnesses, the two sides used heavy weapons in the clashes that broke out early in the morning as unknown assailants raided a police base in Baidoa, a Press TV correspondent reported on Sunday.
Thousands of local residents are reportedly hiding in fear of their lives following the attacks.
Baidoa police chief, however, claimed that more than 12 fighters were killed in the skirmishes on Saturday night.
The battle in Baidoa is the latest in a string of fights to gain control of the town.
In a separate incident, unidentified gunmen shot dead a well-known businessman in eastern Mogadishu. The man, identified as Ali Abdulle Omari, was killed in his store as gunmen sprayed him with bullets.
Meanwhile, citizens of the Kismayu have called on the leaders of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and the Al-Shabab fighters to impose Shria law in the town.
Somalia has experienced a long and protracted civil war during most of the past seventeen years with various actors vying among themselves for power. A succession of warlords, pseudo-counterterrorists and Islamists fought bloody wars to that effect. None of these actors however materialized their dream of gaining national power in the Horn of Africa country.
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