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| Plane 'shot down' in Somali city | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A cargo plane carrying 11 people has been shot down after taking off from the main airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu, local officials say. | |
| It crashed in the city's northern suburbs. Eyewitnesses said the plane plunged to the ground in flames. | |
| "Three rockets were fired at the plane and one hit the plane," Somali government spokesman Hussein Mohamed Muhamoud told the AFP news agency. | |
| It is not known if any of those on board survived the crash. | |
| "This is an act that will not be accepted by the Somali people and government," Mr Muhamoud said. | |
| 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 An airport worker and a local radio station were also quoted as saying that the plane was shot down by a missile. | |
| Capt Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for Ugandan peacekeepers, who control the airport, said it was too early to tell what was caused the crash. | |
| He said he believed the crew were nationals of Russia or Belarus. | |
| Local officials were earlier 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. | 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. | 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. |