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allAfrica.com: Somalia: Ethiopian Army Shelling Kills 15 Civilians in Mogadishu (Page 1 of 1)

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Ethiopian Army Shelling Kills 15 Civilians in Mogadishu (Page 1 of 1)
Ethiopian troops in Somalia's capital Mogadishu responded with heavy firepower after suspected insurgents attacked army positions Friday, Radio Garowe reported.

At least 15 civilians were killed and 20 others wounded at Mogadishu's main livestock market where "many shells" hit, according to witnesses.

"I saw five dead women at the market," said a witness who did not want his name in print.

The Ethiopian army shells were preceded by a guerrilla attack staged by Islamist rebels, but locals said the actual fighting lasted for brief minutes.

Ethiopia's army did not speak publicly about Friday's shelling of civilian areas. The Ethiopian army has been accused of committing war crimes since invading Somalia two years ago.

The shelling comes on the heels of a controversial ceasefire agreement between the Somali interim government and an Islamist-led opposition, although that ceasefire has been violated repeatedly by both sides of the conflict.
Somalia was plunged into chaos in 1991 when the country's last effective ruler, Gen. Siad Barre, was forced to flee Mogadishu by clan warlords.

The warlords divided Somalia into clan-based fiefdoms until Islamists rose to power in mid-2006, chasing away Mogadishu's destructive warlords.

Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops have been battled an Islamist-led insurgency for the past two years, with a local human rights group estimating that nearly 10,000 people have been killed so far.

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