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Somali talks bombs kill children | Somali talks bombs kill children |
(about 1 hour later) | |
At least five Somali children have been killed in a mortar shell attack, say witnesses, as a reconciliation conference finally opened in Mogadishu. | At least five Somali children have been killed in a mortar shell attack, say witnesses, as a reconciliation conference finally opened in Mogadishu. |
"They wanted to undermine the peace process and they missed their target and killed children," said Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Dheere. | |
At least two people died earlier, after insurgent attacks on a market. | At least two people died earlier, after insurgent attacks on a market. |
The conference has been repeatedly postponed, with a boycott by Islamists and Mogadishu's clan elders. | The conference has been repeatedly postponed, with a boycott by Islamists and Mogadishu's clan elders. |
'Historic' | |
None of the 1,000 conference delegates were hurt in the attack. | |
Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi said it was "historic" to be holding the conference, due to last a month, in the Somali capital. | |
The sky was lit by the explosions Mohamed Abdi, shop owner Mohamed Abdi The delegates were to discuss an 11-point agenda, including clan divisions and holding elections, said conference spokesman Abdirahman Mohamud Shift, according to the AP news agency. | |
The international community has urged the government to include moderate Islamists in the conference in order to bring peace to Somalia. | |
But the Islamists and Hawiye clan elders refused to attend, saying the venue is not neutral, while Ethiopian troops remain in the country. | |
Ethiopia helped government troops oust the Union of Islamic Courts from Mogadishu last December. | |
Islamist leaders are instead holding a rival meeting in the Eritrean capital, Asmara. | |
President Abdullahi Yusuf has vowed that the talks would go ahead even if a nuclear bomb was dropped. | |
Fleeing | |
There was fierce fighting around Bakara market before the conference opened. | |
President Yusuf said a nuclear bomb would not stop the talks"The sky was lit by the explosions," grocery shop owner Mohamed Abdi told Reuters news agency. | |
"They were the heaviest attacks so far on the troops." | |
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says some people have fled the area around Bakara market, where attacks are common. | The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says some people have fled the area around Bakara market, where attacks are common. |
Several mortar shells landed near the conference venue on Sunday, injuring civilians, when the talks first began. | |
It was immediately postponed to give some of the delegates more time to arrive. | |
Somalia has been without a functioning government for 16 years. | Somalia has been without a functioning government for 16 years. |