Friday, September 17, 2010
Three government soldiers were killed when insurgent group al-Shabaab, which is trying to topple the weak Western-backed government, shelled the building as lawmakers met.
The return fire from government and African Union peacekeeping forces killed 12 civilians, many of them in the insurgent stronghold of Bakara Market.
'We saw 12 civilians die in the shelling,' Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, said. 'We collected 47 wounded civilians, mainly in the Bakara Market.'
Al-Shabaab, which has links to the al-Qaeda network, in mid-August launched a major offensive aimed at ending years of stalemate.
Hundreds of civilians have died in the fighting, killed by stray shells and suicide bombs.
The insurgent push coincided with the news Uganda was sending in more troops to bring the AU force up to its mandated strength of around 8,000.
Augustine Mahiga, the United Nations special envoy for Somalia, told the UN Security Council on Thursday that the peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, would need to be bolstered to 20,000 troops in the coming months to contain the growing insurgency.
'The threat level in Mogadishu and in southern-central Somalia has actually increased,' Mahiga said. 'Scaled-up assistance from the international community is needed to make a difference.'
The envoy said plans were afoot to ask the Security Council to authorize more troops in Somalia.
The Horn of Africa nation has repeatedly asked for more assistance from the UN and international community, but the UN has been reluctant to take over peacekeeping duties.
Al-Shabaab, backed by an influx of foreign fighters from places such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, is growing in strength and increasingly turning to suicide bombings as a tactic.
The group carried out a twin bomb blast in Uganda's capital Kampala in July, killing 76. Suicide bombers have since targeted lawmakers meeting in a Mogadishu hotel and the capital's airport, killing dozens.
The insurgency, which has claimed more than 21,000 lives, kicked off in early 2007 following Ethiopia's invasion to topple the ruling Islamist regime.
Somalia has been immersed in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Source: dpa