Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Mogadishu, Somalia (AFP) - Two civilians were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at a notoriously violent Mogadishu junction, just several hundred metres (yards) from African Union (AU) troops, witnesses said Wednesday.
"Two gunmen came to K4 (junction) and shot the two," said bystander Mohamed Abudullahi Hussein.
They then made their getaway in a waiting car, Hussein said, adding that AU peacekeepers were barely 300 metres from the scene of the incident.
Witnesses said that the two dead were Abdinafir Ahmed Sergeto, a former military officer and diplomat, and banker Abdullahi Issa Shikshikow.
Around 200 Ugandan AU peacekeeping troops last Friday set up a base in a building at the K4 junction, with equipment including mortars, heavy machine guns and three tanks.
A spokesman for the Ugandan peacekeepers said they were investigating the shootings.
Some 1,500 Ugandan AU troops arrived in Mogadishu earlier this month.
Source: AFP, Mar 28, 2007