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Saturday, December 13, 2008
MOGADISHU (AFP) — Ethiopian troops killed 11 Somalis after being attacked by Islamist gunmen on a road between Mogadishu and the town of Afgoye, witnesses said on Saturday.
The incident took place late Friday and local residents said those killed were unarmed civilians shot dead by the Ethiopian troops in retaliation for the insurgent ambush.
"The Ethiopian troops killed 11 civilians late Friday and their bodies were collected this morning," said Mohamud Ibraim, a resident of the area where the incident occurred.
"The killing took place at a water collection point in Kaba Hirig of Wanlaweyn district in the Lower Shabelle region," he said.
Maryan Mohamud, a mother of four, told AFP that two of the killed were family members.
"Gunmen attacked Ethiopian troops on the road from Mogadishu to Afgoye. They attacked a truck with a roadside bomb and then opened fire," she said.
"The Ethiopians came to the area moments later with reinforcements and massacred unarmed civilians. Ten were shot at point blank," she added.
"The killing was a clear retaliation by Ethiopian troops after they were attacked by the Shebab," Abdullahi Hassan, a 68-year-old local resident, said.
He charged that the 11 men were not in possession of firearms but were shot regardless.
Ethiopia invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist militia that had briefly taken control of most of the country and rescue an embattled internationally-backed transitional government.
Ethiopia's military presence triggered a deadly Islamist-led insurgency and Addis Ababa announced recently that it would withdraw its troop by the end of the year.
The Ethiopian military was not available for comment but the website of the Shebab -- an Islamist militia that has recently made substantial military gains -- accused the Ethiopian troops of executing civilians.
"We are telling the Ethiopians they should expect more action from us, the people they killed were poor nomads," said a message posted on the website.
"The Tigray forces collected people from the water well and shot them one by one in the head," said the website, which also carried a picture of the purported victims.
Source: AFP, Dec 13, 2008