March 22, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 2, 1428

MOGADISHU, March 21: At least 14 people including six soldiers were killed on Wednesday as deadly fighting raged in southern Mogadishu, sparked by an attack on an Ethiopian military base, witnesses said.

Three uniformed soldiers were killed, a correspondent said, adding that two of their bodies were burned and one was dragged through the streets.

Three civilians were killed in a mortar attack.

“Three people were killed after shells landed in their house. I saw the bodies and one of them is my relative,” resident Abdulkadir Hassan said.

The latest deaths took an earlier toll of eight to 14.

Hundreds of angry civilians celebrated in the Baruwa neighbourhood as the bodies of two of the dead soldiers went up in flames.

The crowd shouted: “You and Ethiopians will die”, “ Down, Down with Somali troops”, and “We will burn you alive”.

Nearby, a woman carrying a machete shouted obscenities against Ethiopian and Somali troops while stepping on the body of another dead soldier being dragged by a rope tied to his foot, a newsman said.

Residents said dozens of civilians were wounded in the fighting, which erupted when suspected Islamist insurgents pounded the defence ministry headquarters, where the Ethiopian army is based.

Ethiopian-Somali troops responded by shelling positions in southern Mogadishu in a bid to take over areas believed to be occupied by insurgents, witnesses said.

Dozens of people have died since January when joint Somali-Ethiopian forces ousted an Islamist movement from south and central Somalia, including the capital, but insurgents and allied factions have responded with deadly guerrilla warfare.

African Union troops are now deploying in Mogadishu to take over from Ethiopian forces and try to help Somali government troops control the country.—AFP