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| Africa Horn |
| 35 die in battle for Mogadishu |
| 2010-12-05 |
| [Iran Press TV] At least 35 people have been killed and many others injured when heavy festivities broke out between African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops and al-Shaboobs. The fighting took place in Mogadishu on Thursday after African Union troops blocked Industry Road, which connects various quarters in the Somali capital. Twenty civilians bit the dust and at least eight al-Shabaab members were also killed, Radio Garowe reported late on Friday. Several others were killed as intense violence continued in Mogadishu's Bondhere, Shibis, Hodan, and Daynile districts, according to witnesses and medical workers. "The operations to extend our area of control have been successful," AMISOM front man Major Barigye Bahoku said. Somali ambulance workers transported 17 maimed civilians to local hospitals for treatment, according to the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, Ali Muse. The International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) has reported that hundreds of civilians were maimed in fighting in Somalia in recent months. The Geneva-based humanitarian institution said that a total of 5,000 patients with war injuries, including 1,900 women and kiddies, were admitted to Mogadishu's Keysaney and Medina hospitals from January through September. Compared to last year, it is an increase of 25 percent in the total number of war casualties and 72 percent in the number of war-maimed women and kiddies admitted to the hospitals. Boilerplate follows... Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Over the past two decades, up to one million people have bit the dust in fighting between rival factions and due to famine and disease. There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. Over 300,000 of the IDPs are sheltered in Mogadishu. The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society High Commissioner for Refugees reported that most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Well, then there's this, just scroll down to the subject line Chicago's 2010 homicide toll surpasses 400. I wouldn't sweat the Mog. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-12-05 20:10 |
| #4 Whiskey Mike - It functioned far better than anything that's been in place since then. In fact, Somalia had a halfway-decent government in place up until the late 1980's, when various warlords began causing problems for the central government. Puntland and Somaliland both have functioning governments - it's just the lower half of Somalia that's in turmoil. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2010-12-05 14:30 |
| #3 Well, Mussolini did make the trains run on time... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-12-05 13:40 |
| #2 "Somalia has not had a functioning government since...". Ever? Can you call a dictatorship a 'functioning government' with a straight face (and not be a minion of the UN)? |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2010-12-05 06:01 |
| #1 Admittedly, the AU troops are a bit "rough" and they lack assets and training. Then again, it's a home-grown operation and they aren't restricted with the ROEs of public-relations-sensitive 'civilized' Western armies. And remember that if this were a UN operation, the area of control would still be the two-block area where the rump Somali government is. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-12-05 01:29 |