Ethiopian Troops Kill 5 Somali Civilians

[Castro]

By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN

The Associated Press

Wednesday, May 30, 2007; 10:52 AM

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Ethiopian troops shot and killed five bystanders Wednesday after a land mine exploded as their convoy passed through the center of a western Somali town, police said.

 

A remote-controlled land mine detonated in the town of Belet Weyne as the last vehicle in the convoy, a water tanker, passed.

 

"Then the Ethiopians opened fire on civilians," police Col. Yusuf Aden told The Associated Press by telephone from Belet Weyne, 180 miles north of the capital, Mogadishu. "Five people, all of them passers-by, were killed and three others were wounded."

 

It was the first time an Ethiopian army convoy has been attacked outside the capital, where Ethiopian trucks have been frequently targeted. The Ethiopian troops are backing Somalia's fragile government against radical Islamic insurgents.

 

The explosion rocked the town center, and huge plumes of smoke rose into the sky, said Ali Iid, a witness. The Ethiopian soldiers fired in all directions, then controlled movement at the site for 10 minutes before driving off, Iid told the AP by telephone.

 

"I saw five people lying in the street, including a woman," he said.

 

Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government was sidelined by a radical Islamic group until Ethiopia's military intervened in December and turned the tide.

 

Insurgents linked to the Islamic group have vowed to wage an Iraq-style guerrilla war, saying the government is allowing Ethiopia to occupy the country.

 

The government claimed victory over the insurgents last month after battles in Mogadishu that killed at least 1,670 people and drove a fifth of the city's 2 million residents to flee.

 

Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords ousted longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another.

Washington Post

[Cara.]

Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords ousted longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another.

I wonder if AP and Reuters type this in every time or it gets automatically attached to every story about Somalia, like a signature.

[Castro]

^^^ I wondered about that too and realized it is very close to a signature except, depending on who originated the article, the "facts" change a little. It's hard to notice but if you pay close attention next time, you'll see it.

[Jacpher]

^Me too. It's not only AP though. BBC and other major ones find a way to insert such comments in the button of almost all news articles about Somalia.

[Cara.]

Castro, it's true there are variations, but each news agency has a certain wording. Maybe not a signature, but could be a shortcut key

 

Reuters:

 

"Somalia has been in anarchy since warlords kicked out dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991."

 

"President Abdullahi Yusuf’s government is struggling to impose central rule on the Horn of Africa nation, in anarchy since warlords kicked out dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991."

 

Associated Press:

 

"Somalia does not have a coast guard or navy and has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords ousted longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, making the country's 1,880-mile coastline one of the most dangerous for ships."

[Som@li]

Truth does not hurt,