Mogadishu: The War And Anarchy That Never Seems To End!!!

[Amusse]

At least 17 people were killed and 61 injured in fighting between government forces and Islamist insurgents in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials said on Thursday.

Government soldiers fired mortars at insurgent positions in the heavily populated Bakara market area on Wednesday after coming under attack, witnesses said.

“We admitted 61 wounded people from yesterday’s shelling,” a doctor at the Medina Hospital told the German Press Agency dpa.

“Three of them died inside the hospital during treatment.” Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service, told dpa that eleven civilians died, while other witnesses said that another three had been killed.

Insurgent group al-Shabaab, which recently announced it was joining al-Qaeda’s international jihad, is pushing to oust the weak Western-backed government and controls much of Mogadishu and south and central Somalia.

Civilians are often caught in the crossfire, and human rights organizations and aid agencies have called on both the government and insurgent groups to minimize civilian casualties.

The shelling came as forces built up in Mogadishu in advance of an expected government assault on al-Shabaab’s positions.

Witnesses saw hundreds of heavily armed insurgents pour into Mogadishu on Wednesday, while the government was also building up its forces as it tries to extend its weak influence in Mogadishu.

Thousands of civilians have fled the city over the last few days in anticipation of heavy fighting.

Somalia is still locked in a full-scale insurgency one year after the appointment of Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed — a former insurgent ally — as president raised hopes of peace.

However, al-Shabaab dismissed Sheikh Sharif as a traitor, and intensified their campaign.

The Horn of African nation has been embroiled in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

More than 20,000 people have died in the current insurgency, which kicked off in early 2007 after Ethiopian forces invaded to oust an Islamist regime that ruled for six months in 2006.

Keywords: Somalia shelling, casualties, al-Shabaab, insurgency

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/internati ... 104867.ece

[Amusse]

The failure of USC continues to Hunt the Somali Repubic 1991-2010 and it continues...............

[Amusse]

There have been several Battles of Mogadishu:

Battle of Mogadishu (1993) (sometimes called the First Battle of Mogadishu), also known as Battle of the Black Sea or The Day of the Rangers: part of Operation Gothic Serpent/Code Irene. United States, Pakistani, and Malaysian forces fought forces of Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Battle of Mogadishu (2006) (sometimes called the Second Battle of Mogadishu): The Islamic Courts Union attacked and captured the city held by the ARPCT
Fall of Mogadishu (2006): The Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian Army attacked and captured the city held by the Islamic Courts Union
Battle of Mogadishu (March–April 2007) (occasionally called the Third Battle of Mogadishu): The Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian Army battled the insurgents of the Islamist PRM and the Hawiye clan in the city
Battle of Mogadishu (November 2007), Another battle between the TFG/Ethiopia and the Islamist PRM
Battle of Mogadishu (2008), another battle between the above mentioned forces.
Battle of South Mogadishu, a two-day armed clash in February, 2009, between the TFG and Hizbul Islam
Battle of Mogadishu (2009), between al-Shabaab, Hizbul Islam and the ICU/TFG Alliance