Thursday, July 12, 2007
Mogadishu (Xinhua) - Suspected rebels have hit the presidential palace here with mortar bombs, increasing tension ahead of a planned national peace meeting this weekend.
Six mortar bombs hit the palace, demolishing parts of its walls, a security source said Wednesday, adding that it was unknown if there were casualties as no one had emerged from the palace.
It was also not immediately clear if President Abdullahi Yusuf was in the building at the time of the attack, the source said.
The attack came shortly after Yusuf's interim government announced it would hold a twice-postponed peace conference seen as key to establishing peace in the country.
Somalia has been in chaos and lawlessness since former ruler Mohamed Siyad Barre was overthrown in 1991 by warlords, leading the country into fiefdoms.
Just hours before the attack, European Union envoys left the capital, having praised the preparations for the peace conference of more than 1,000 delegates Sunday.
Source: Xinhua, July 12, 2007