MOGADISHU, Feb 22: Mortar bombs crashed into Mogadishu's international airport on Thursday and two government soldiers were killed in clashes with gunmen, in the latest attacks in and around the increasingly violent capital.
The two soldiers died in a gunfight with local clan militiamen just outside Mogadishu in Laanta Bur, resident Ismail Yusuf said by telephone, adding he did not know the cause of the fight. The government had no immediate comment.
A government security source said four fighters -- and it was not clear whether they were government soldiers -- were wounded in a battle with local administration militiamen at Mogadishu's Globe Hotel -- often host to government officials.
The attacks seemed to fit a continuing pattern of resistance against the government and its allies, including Ethiopian soldiers that are helping it hold the capital.
The shootouts happened after three mortar rounds fell in Mogadishu's seaside airport, hitting the runway and a parking lot, witnesses said. No one was wounded.
“People ran for cover immediately after the mortar hit the runway. I was standing near the tower during the attack,” said one airport worker who declined to be named.
Gunmen also shot dead a district commissioner in Mogadishu late on Wednesday.
Mohyadin Hassan Haji, commissioner for the city's Yaqshid district “was killed last night around 8.30pm near his home.
Two gunmen assassinated him,” said a government security source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Ugandan, Burundian and Nigerian troops who have so far pledged to deploy in Somalia will face a stiff challenge in a country that has resisted order and authority for the 16 years of anarchy since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre's ouster in 1991.
Mogadishu will be the toughest spot.
President Abdullahi Yusuf's administration has accused the Islamists of paying gunmen to attack its positions, but there are many people with weapons and anti-government grudges prowling in one of the world's most dangerous cities.
Experts say the unrest has little chance of abating until the government reconciles with clans who feel excluded from the political process.—Reuters