SOMALIA: Mortar fire and hand grenade kills three children in ongoing post-war violence in Somali capital Mogadishu

Three children die and others are injured as civilians become targets in the latest attacks in Mogadishu. Grenade and mortar attacks killed three children on Saturday (February 10) in the ongoing post-war violence in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Residents said two children died when a mortar landed on their home in the south of the coastal city, and a girl was killed when unknown assailants fired rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) into a hotel hosting reconciliation talks in the north. "They killed one of my sons, injured five more together with my mother," said Fadumo Ali a mother who lost one of her sons. Eyewitnesses said that at least four other children were among the injured, their wounds, caused mainly by shrapnel. Another attack took place in the north of the city, blew up in a hotel restaurant, killing a young girl and wounding a waiter, a clan elder taking part in the talks. It was the second attack on a Mogadishu hotel in as many days and underlined the volatility of the Horn of Africa nation, where an offensive by Somali government and Ethiopian forces ousted an Islamist movement over the New Year. Civilians have been the main victims of the frequent attacks, which Somalia's interim government has blamed on fugitive Islamists, some of whom have vowed to wage a holy war. Diplomats have urged the world to back and fund an African Union (AU) mission to stabilise the country, but only about 4,000 troops have so far been pledged of the 8,000 called for. Uganda was the first country to offer soldiers, but its parliament still has to ratify that. Nigeria and Burundi have also expressed willingness to contribute.

ITN Source | February 11, 2007

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