By MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR
Sunday, November 09, 2008
The violence in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, erupted after insurgents attacked a base for African Union peacekeepers. At least six people died in the city's two main hospitals, but the death toll was likely higher, doctors at Medina and Dayniile hospitals said. Dozens of people were wounded.
Mohamed Saakow, a Somali who worked for the Mercy Corps aid agency, was killed Saturday night as he walked out of a mosque in Jamame, about 275 miles (440 kilometers) south of Mogadishu, said Januune Ali, a village elder.
Foreigners, journalists and aid workers are frequently abducted for ransoms in Somalia. They also have been targeted for killings by unknown assailants.
At least 16 aid workers have died this year in Somalia, which is caught up in a civil war with Islamic insurgents. The impoverished Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991.
Thousands of civilians have been killed in the fighting and hundreds of thousands have fled the capital. More than 2 million people are dependent on food aid in Somalia, and control of aid often has provoked fighting among Somalia's clan-based warlords.
Associated Press writer Mohamed Olad Hassan contributed to this report.