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Rebels claim Somali suicide bomb | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Somalia's Islamist militant group al-Shabab, accused of having links to al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the capital. | Somalia's Islamist militant group al-Shabab, accused of having links to al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the capital. |
The group's political leader Sheik Husein Ali Fidow said a Somali teenager had carried out Sunday's attack, which killed six soldiers and a civilian. | |
The bomber drove a pick-up truck to the gates of a police training school. | The bomber drove a pick-up truck to the gates of a police training school. |
An upsurge in fighting over the past two weeks in Mogadishu has forced almost 60,000 people to flee. | An upsurge in fighting over the past two weeks in Mogadishu has forced almost 60,000 people to flee. |
About 200 people are thought to have been killed since the beginning of May, as Islamist insurgents try to topple the fragile interim government. | About 200 people are thought to have been killed since the beginning of May, as Islamist insurgents try to topple the fragile interim government. |
Very little is being done by the international agencies because of the fragile security situation UNHCR's Roberta Russo class="" href="/1/hi/world/africa/8057179.stm">Somali justice - Islamist-style | |
The UN refugee agency's Roberta Russo said an estimated 8,000 were displaced on Friday alone when the government hit back against insurgent strongholds. | |
"Some of the people had only recently returned to Mogadishu because of the relative peace since the beginning of the year, " she told the BBC's Network Africa programme. | |
A moderate Islamist President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, was elected by a unity government in January as part of a UN-backed peace initiative. | |
But his introduction of Sharia law to the strongly Muslim country has not appeased the Islamist insurgents | |
Water aid | |
Mr Fidow warned that al-Shabab attacks against government and African Union (AU) targets would continue in the weeks and months ahead. | |
Hardline Islamist groups want to impose a stricter version of Islamic law and they want AU peacekeepers to leave Somalia. | |
BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says suicide bomb attacks are relatively rare in Somalia. | |
The last was in February, when two suicide bombers attacked an AU military base killing at least 11 Burundian soldiers. | The last was in February, when two suicide bombers attacked an AU military base killing at least 11 Burundian soldiers. |
The AU is not involved in the fighting as the 4,300-strong force does not have a mandate to pursue the insurgents. | The AU is not involved in the fighting as the 4,300-strong force does not have a mandate to pursue the insurgents. |
Al-Shabab denied claims that the suicide car bomber was a foreigner, but has admitted it had "Muslim brothers" from other countries fighting in its ranks. | |
The UNHCR says many of those fleeing the city are women and children. | |
"Very often their husbands have been killed and they are leaving Mogadishu with very little," Ms Russo said. | |
"Those going to Afgoye, 30km (18 miles) south-west from Mogadishu, are asking the 400,000 internally displaced people already there to share the little they have. | |
"Very little is being done by the international agencies because of the fragile security situation." | |
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says local non-governmental organisations are trying to distribute water to some of the displaced, who are living out in the open under trees. | |
Mogadishu has been blighted by 18 years of almost uninterrupted civil unrest. | Mogadishu has been blighted by 18 years of almost uninterrupted civil unrest. |