Ethiopian troops accused of killing Somali civilians

By Mohamed Olad Hassan

Mogadishu, Somalia, April 30, 2008 (AP/ SAPA) Ethiopian troops allied to Somalia's shaky government shot dead 13 civilians after an explosion killed two soldiers on Wednesday, witnesses in south-western Somalia said.

Witness Mohamud Ahmed Nur said what appeared to be a remote-controlled land mine hit the Ethiopian troops patrolling Baidoa town and killed two soldiers.

The soldiers, he said, then opened fire in all directions, killing at least 10 civilians who were passing by.

Mohamed Hussein Diriye, a doctor at the town's main hospital, said three other people died later of their injuries while being treated at his facility. Seven other wounded were being treated at the hospital, he said.

"It was an horrific scene, blood scattered everywhere," said witness Jamal Haji. "I saw the dead bodies of at least 10 people lying in the middle of the road."

Baidoa is 250km south-west of the capital, Mogadishu, and is the headquarters for the Somali Parliament. Several senior government officials also live there.

Islamic insurgents furious about the presence of Ethiopian troops on their soil have stepped up attacks across the country in recent months, seizing towns and then voluntarily withdrawing, in a direct challenge to the government, which is struggling to exert its control.

Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia's fragile transitional government come under daily attack from the insurgents, whom they drove out of the capital in December 2006. The insurgents receive support from Ethiopia's arch-enemy, Eritrea, and have strong support among sections of the population. The government is seen as weak, ineffectual and corrupt.

Somalia has been mired in violence since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned their heavily armed supporters on one another. The Horn of Africa nation is flooded with weapons and divided among warring clans. -- Sapa-AP