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Deadly bombing in Somali market | Deadly bombing in Somali market |
(about 3 hours later) | |
At least 17 people have been killed in a mortar attack on the main market in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. | At least 17 people have been killed in a mortar attack on the main market in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. |
Ethiopian troops backing the interim Somali government are reported to be behind the shelling of Bakara market in which more than 40 people were injured. | |
Eyewitnesses said the shells landed among shoppers, cutting people down. | |
Meanwhile, a senior national security ministry official has said that 80% of the country is now outside government control and is not safe. | |
Sheikh Qasim Ibrahim Nur also warned that Islamist insurgents had regrouped and were poised to launch a major strike. | |
The BBC's East Africa correspondent Karen Allen says it is a rare admission of the fragility of the transitional government, which is backed by troops from neighbouring Ethiopia. | |
It was a very horrific scene to see mortars landing on an area crammed with innocent civilians Eyewitness Saleban Haji Muse Living in the danger zone | It was a very horrific scene to see mortars landing on an area crammed with innocent civilians Eyewitness Saleban Haji Muse Living in the danger zone |
Ethiopia helped it end the Union of Islamic Courts' (UIC) six-month rule over large parts of southern Somalia, last December. | Ethiopia helped it end the Union of Islamic Courts' (UIC) six-month rule over large parts of southern Somalia, last December. |
Our correspondent says the latest flare-up of fighting is widely believed to be an escalation in the conflict. | Our correspondent says the latest flare-up of fighting is widely believed to be an escalation in the conflict. |
"It was a very horrific scene to see mortars landing on an area crammed with innocent civilians," Saleban Haji Muse, whose brother died in the market attack, told the BBC. | "It was a very horrific scene to see mortars landing on an area crammed with innocent civilians," Saleban Haji Muse, whose brother died in the market attack, told the BBC. |
The attack took place a few hours after heavily armed insurgents engaged in a fire fight with the Ethiopian troops in a northern district of the city. | The attack took place a few hours after heavily armed insurgents engaged in a fire fight with the Ethiopian troops in a northern district of the city. |
Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies face increasing criticism from the international community. | Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies face increasing criticism from the international community. |
They have been accused of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, in an effort to try and stop the spread of an Islamist insurgency, our reporter says. | They have been accused of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, in an effort to try and stop the spread of an Islamist insurgency, our reporter says. |
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