Some calm has returned to parts of the war-ravaged capital of Somalia after a day of deadly gun battle between the Islamists and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops with the help of African Union peacekeepers.
Residents in Mogadishu are talking about Friday’s deadly fighting that claimed the lives of at least16 civilians who were killed in different districts in the capital when the Islamist fighters launched attacks which seem to have been well coordinated in various parts of the city targeting government and AU bases.
“Exchanging heavy artillery fire over innocent people tells us that there is not any humanity and kindness in this country,” said Maryama Farah Hirey, an old woman who lives near the affected area during an interview with APA.
The Islamist militants of Al-Shabab, the Al-Qaeda linked group, claimed that they were behind the simultaneous attacks targeting mainly the western-backed fragile government bases in the capital.
A press release issued by the Al-Shabab Islamists said that two of their fighters were killed in the fighting and three others were wounded.
The Islamist offensive comes as the country’s president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed celebrated his first anniversary in the presidential palace.
Islamist extremists from Al-Shabab and Hezb Al-Islam control most of the country and they have vowed to continue fighting until they drive out the fragile government backed by United Nations and the West.
In his anniversary speech, President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, also announced that his forces will soon recapture all parts of the country.
Somalia had been plunged into anarchy after the overthrow of former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, when warlords used their clan-based militias to remove Barre only to turn on each other for power, leading to constant inter-clan war which has left thousands killed and millions displaced.
Source African Press Agency
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