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Plane crashes in Somali capital | Plane crashes in Somali capital |
(40 minutes later) | |
A plane has crashed shortly after taking off from the main airport in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. | A plane has crashed shortly after taking off from the main airport in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. |
Local witnesses said they saw the plane plunge to the ground in flames. The cause of the crash was not known. | |
Some reports said a missile hit the plane but this is not confirmed. It crashed in the northern suburbs, where there was no fighting on Friday. | |
A spokesman for Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia, who control the airport, said 11 people were on board. | |
"It's too early to say if it [the plane] was hit by a missile or not. We are checking," Capt Paddy Ankunda told Reuters news agency. | |
I saw the plane on fire... One of the wings exploded in the air... When it hit the ground, another explosion occurred Hassan Mahamud Jama, eyewitness | |
The spokesman said that possibly nationals of Russia or Belarus were on the plane. | |
An airport official and a Somali government source were quoted as saying that the plane had carried engineers and equipment to repair another aircraft at Mogadishu's airport. | |
They said they believed it was a Russian-made Ilyushin-76 cargo plane. | |
Local witnesses said they saw a plane on fire and later heard an explosion. | |
Mogadishu's international airport is located in the heart of the city. | Mogadishu's international airport is located in the heart of the city. |
'Large explosions' | 'Large explosions' |
Earlier, clan elders from the Hawiye clan which dominates Mogadishu said they had agreed a truce with the Ethiopian army, which helped install the government in they city last December. | Earlier, clan elders from the Hawiye clan which dominates Mogadishu said they had agreed a truce with the Ethiopian army, which helped install the government in they city last December. |
However, some shooting continued in the south of the city. | However, some shooting continued in the south of the city. |
One local resident said he had heard a number of large explosions and machine gunfire. | One local resident said he had heard a number of large explosions and machine gunfire. |
A government official, who did not want to be identified, told the BBC he had heard that Ethiopian tanks had been firing on buildings occupied by Islamist insurgents. | A government official, who did not want to be identified, told the BBC he had heard that Ethiopian tanks had been firing on buildings occupied by Islamist insurgents. |
More than 20 people have died in clashes between insurgents and Ethiopia-backed government forces during two days of clashes - the heaviest fighting in the city this year. | More than 20 people have died in clashes between insurgents and Ethiopia-backed government forces during two days of clashes - the heaviest fighting in the city this year. |
Earlier this month, some 1,200 Ugandan peacekeepers arrived in the city to replace the Ethiopians who want to pull out. | Earlier this month, some 1,200 Ugandan peacekeepers arrived in the city to replace the Ethiopians who want to pull out. |
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991. | Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991. |