Reuters
Monday, March 26, 2012
At least two people were killed and 8 others wounded after mortar
rounds fired by Somalia's al Shabaab rebels towards the presidential
palace landed on a nearby camp for the internally displaced, witnesses
and officials said on Monday. Under pressure from African Union
and Somali government troops, the al Qaeda-linked militants withdrew
from Mogadishu in August prompting a return to relative calm in the
capital, although they still manage to launch sporadic attacks.
Paddy
Ankunda, spokesman for the African Union force known as AMISOM, said
some mortars hit a camp for Somalis displaced by war and famine about
300 metres from the presidential palace.
Ismail Nur, a resident of the camp, said one mortar killed two members of a single family.
"A
mortar landed on our camp - a father and his son died. Eight others
including three women were injured," Nur, who is a nephew to the dead
father told Reuters.
Al Shabaab said they fired mortars at the
heavily protected presidential compound, their third attempt to strike
at the heart of the government in a fortnight.