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| Somali civilians flee the scene of a mortar attack at the southern neighborhood of Bakara in, 21 Apr 2007 |
21 April 2007
Heavy fighting between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian forces in Somalia has continued for a fourth day in the capital, Mogadishu.
Witnesses in the capital Saturday say at least 11 people are dead, but some reports indicate many more may have died in the heavy shelling between the two sides. They say several deaths came when shells hit a residential area in the Bakara district.
The chairman of the Elman Human Rights Organization, Sudan Ali Ahmed, told reporters Friday the group is calling on both sides to stop fighting immediately and without precondition.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Friday for more world support for African Union peacekeepers in Somalia. He also asked the Security Council to consider whether U.N. troops are needed in Somalia.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) is calling on Somalia's warring parties to respect international conventions on aid to war victims, saying combatants are blocking delivery of humanitarian assistance. The transitional government denies deliberately blocking humanitarian aid.
The United Nations is urging the interim government to allow aid workers to help at least 100,000 Somalis in the neediest areas. The U.N. says that some 218,000 people have fled Mogadishu since February 1.
The capital has been wracked by violence since late last year, when Ethiopian troops helped Somalia's interim government drive a rival Islamist movement from power. Islamist and clan-based militias have since launched numerous attacks on government-related targets.
Source: VOA, April 21, 2007