Monday, February 21, 2011

Foreigners killed in Somali clashes

The spokesman of the African Union (AU) troops in Somalia says eight foreign fighters were among the 28 al-Shabab members killed in two days of fierce fighting.

AU Spokesman Brigiye Ba-Hoku told Press TV's correspondent in Mogadishu that the heavy fire fights has claimed the lives of several AU soldiers as well.

Somali military officer Colonel Mohammad Gesey Ali told Press TV on Sunday that a total of 28 al-Shabab fighters were killed, confirming that eight of the dead were foreign nationals.

Meanwhile, al-Shabab called on hundreds of journalists and people in Maslah to witness the bodies of seven AU soldiers and a Somali military commander the group had killed in the fighting.

Al-Shabab also showed three military armored vehicles it had captured from AU and Somali troops near the Maslah military base. Al-Shabab Spokesman Sheikh Abdi Aziz also claimed the group has killed over 25 Somali soldiers and wounded an additional 60.

Doctors in the Somali capital, which has been rocked by heavy mortar and rocket fire over the past 24 hours, confirmed the death of 79 civilians on Sunday adding that at least 150 have been injured.

Residents of six districts near the center of the conflict have fled the capital and have taken refuge in nearby suburbs.

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 lost their lives in the fighting between rival factions and due to famine and disease.

There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. More than 300,000 IDPs are sheltering in Mogadishu alone.

Source: Press TV

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