Grenade attack leaves eight dead

[Hiiraan boy]

Mogadishu - Eight people were killed on Wednesday as a market in the Somali capital came under grenade attack for the third consecutive day ahead of a weekend peace conference, witnesses said.

Five civilians and two police officers were killed in three separate grenade blasts in the crowded Bakara market. Police responded by opening fire, killing a civilian.

"I saw three people who were killed in the first blast and two others in the second blast. Policemen then opened fire and killed a civilian," witness Ali Muhidin told AFP.

A local trader, Farah Mohamed, said he later saw two policemen die when their patrol came under attack near his stall. Four civilians were wounded, he said.


The attacks are the latest in a spate of bombings and shootings blamed on Islamist insurgents seeking the overthrow of the weak transition government, which is backed by Ethiopian forces and African Union peacekeepers.

Five civilians were killed in similar attacks on the sprawling market on Monday and Tuesday.

"The explosions are becoming part of the daily life in this town and I think civilians will start fleeing again because people are dying day after day," said Ali Muhidin Kasey, a grocer.

The upsurge of violence comes as authorities prepare to host a much delayed UN-sponsored national reconciliation conference on Sunday at a heavily-fortified venue in Mogadishu.

The July 15 meeting is expected to gather some 1 300 delegates from feuding Somali factions for peace negotiations.

Mogadishu has been wracked by daily violence since Ethiopia-backed Somali forces wrested control of the capital from Islamist and clan fighters in April after months of fighting. - Sapa-AFP