At least 17 civilians were killed and dozens wounded in Mogadishu in an exchange of mortar and artillery fire between African peacekeepers and insurgents who fired on the Somali president’s plane.
Mortar shells came crashing down on a busy market area in Mogadishu in one of the worst such incidents in months, shattering a relative lull in the Horn of Africa country’s civil war.
“At least 17 civilians were killed and we have counted 58 wounded,” said Ali Muse, head of the Somali capital’s ambulance services.
“I can say this was the worst such incident recently in Mogadishu. Heavy shelling was hitting civilian populated areas, including Bakara market, Holwadag and Hodan,” he said.
Witnesses said the clashes started when insurgent fighters opened mortar fire on the airport as Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was flying out of the country for diplomatic visits.
Sharif was heading to Uganda for an African Union summit on refugees and internally displaced people and boarding the plane when a hail of mortar shells started raining on the area, police officer Colonel Ali Abdullahi said.
Peacekeepers from the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM) fired back.
“I saw the dead bodies of six civilians killed in one place as they were trying to escape the shooting. They died inside a store in Bakara where they had taken shelter,” eyewitness Osmail Mohamed said by phone.
“Many people died inside the market. The artillery fire started falling when people were going about their usual daily business. The market was very crowded when they opened fire,” said Ahmed Abdullahi Gobe, a Bakara trader.
“I have not seen such a tragedy in a long time,” he added.
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