400 Die in Mogadishu's Worst Fighting in 15 years

Ethiopian tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships have fought against guerillas armed with machine guns, missiles and rocket-propelled grenades. The guerrilla forces comprise fighters allied to the Somali Council of Islamic Courts and clan militias who are opposed to the transitional government and the Ethiopian occupation.

A lull in fighting on Monday gave residents a chance to pull several hundred bodies from the streets. Local hospitals have been overwhelmed with casualties.

Democracy Now! 04/03/07

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AMY GOODMAN: As we turn now to Africa, nearly 400 civilians have been killed and 550 wounded in fighting between insurgents and Ethiopian-backed troops in the Somali capital of Mogadishu just since Thursday, this according to a local human rights group. The toll, from the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation, was the first comprehensive count of casualties from what aid agencies are calling the worst fighting in Somalia in fifteen years.

Nearly 50,000 people have fled Mogadishu in the last ten days, according to the UN refugee agency. A total of 96,000 people left their homes during February and March.

Ethiopian tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships have fought against guerillas armed with machine guns, missiles and rocket-propelled grenades. The guerrilla forces comprise fighters allied to the Somali Council of Islamic Courts and clan militias who are opposed to the transitional government and the Ethiopian occupation.

A lull in fighting on Monday gave residents a chance to pull several hundred bodies from the streets. Local hospitals have been overwhelmed with casualties.

This is the director of the Madina Hospital, Dr. Sheikhdon Salad Elmi.

DR. SHEIKHDON SALAD ELMI: We don't have all our the hospital staff. Many of them could not reach the hospital because of the fighting. The number of casualties we received is a small percentage compared to the real casualties in the field.

AMY GOODMAN: A small African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia of some 1,200 Ugandan soldiers has failed to stem the violence. While the four days of fierce fighting subsided after a truce was negotiated Sunday, hundreds more Ethiopian troops have been seen arriving in Mogadishu over the weekend.

Salim Lone is a columnist for the Daily Nation in Kenya and a former spokesperson for the UN mission in Iraq. We’re going to go to break. When we come back, we’ll talk about what’s happening in Somalia, also in Iraq.

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