By Guled Mohamed
Monday, July 09, 2007
Residents said at least two soldiers were injured on a fourth straight day of bloodshed in Bakara, one of the world's biggest open-air arms markets.
"The busy market is now totally deserted," eyewitness Ibrahim Ali, a local resident, told Reuters by telephone. "No one dares cross the street, it is very dangerous."
Tensions are rising in the market, where merchants accuse government soldiers -- many of whom have not been paid in months -- of taking their goods by force.
Late on Sunday, witnesses said at least five people died and two dozen were wounded when troops opened fire after coming under attack with grenades in the market's narrow alleys.
"They (the troops) were shooting people on sight," said one shopkeeper who asked not to be named.
A Somali interim government source said ministers were meeting to discuss "the violence and other national issues".
Police bosses could not immediately be reached for comment.
The interim government is struggling to stamp its authority on Mogadishu since it wrested the capital from an Islamist group early this year with the help of the Ethiopian military.
The government says Bakara Market is a hide-out for insurgents, including remnants of the Islamist movement, who have increasingly adopted Iraq-style guerrilla tactics including assassinations, roadside blasts and suicide bombings.
Source: Reuters, July 09, 2007