Thursday, January 04, 2007
By Sahal Abdulle
"The militiamen wanted to extort money from the tanker (crew). They hit it with an anti-aircraft rocket. Several people have been wounded," said the source, who asked not to be named.
"The tanker was carrying dozens of passengers," he said.
The militiamen were manning a checkpoint at Galgalato, 25 km (15 miles) north of the city center, the source said.
The attack occurred on the last day of a three-day deadline for residents of the coastal capital to hand in their guns or be disarmed by force.
Somalia's interim government issued the order after its forces, backed by troops, tanks and warplanes from neighboring Ethiopia, routed Islamists who had brought some stability to much of the south during its six-month rule.
Many Somalis say they resent the interim government as an Ethiopian puppet that is virtually powerless on its own.
They say they have also been scared by the reappearance of gunmen loyal to a host of warlords chased out of Mogadishu by the Islamists in June.
Within hours of the Islamists fleeing the city a week ago, many militia had taken up positions at checkpoints where they used to rob, rape and murder civilians.
Analysts say the rapid return of warlords shows how easily the city could slide back into the anarchy it has suffered since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.
The government is trying to install itself in the capital, after breaking out from the provincial outpost of Baidoa, which had been threatened by the Islamists.
After leaving its final stronghold in southern Somalia on Monday, the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) rejected an amnesty offer and vowed to fight on using guerrilla tactics.
Government troops backed by Ethiopian fighter jets and helicopter gunships have been pursuing Islamist fighters in the scrubland between Kismayu port and the Kenyan border.
The United States, trying to block the escape of SICC leaders and foreign jihadists by sea, has deployed warships from a counter-terrorism force off the Horn of Africa nation's coast.
Kenya has also sealed its border and reinforced its troops to guard against any spill-over of the fighting.
Source: Reuters, Jan 04, 2007