alad Duhul, Canadian Press
Published: Thursday, April 19, 2007MOGADISHU, Somalia - An Ethiopian military truck exploded on Thursday on the outskirts of the Somali capital, possibly killing the soldiers on board, said a witness, who did not know what caused the explosion.
The explosion comes after two days of on-off street battles between Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's fragile government and insurgents that saw both sides use tank shells, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. Some residents characterized the fighting as the most intense in many years. At least 14 people were killed in the fighting and dozens injured.
The truck was one of two carrying Ethiopian soldiers travelling on the main road to key southern Somalia towns. The explosion took place about 20 kilometres south of Mogadishu.
Yusuf Osman, who runs a small pharmacy on that road, said on the phone that he saw the trucks leaving and "within minutes we heard a blast and saw one of the cars burning ... I think all the soldiers were killed as the whole car was on fire."
Ali Hussein Mohamed, a street vendor, told The Associated Press on the phone that he saw 10 injured Ethiopian soldiers lying on the ground.
Osman said that Ethiopian soldiers in the second truck opened fire on a nearby minibus. He saw two injured people, but he did not know if anyone was killed.
Policemen from a nearby station then cordoned off the area, said Osman.
Neither government nor police officials were immediately available for comment.
Somali troops backed by Ethiopian forces ousted the country's Islamic movement in December from Mogadishu and other strongholds. Remnants of the Islamic group have vowed to wage an Iraq-style insurgency and the capital has seen of waves of violence. The most deadly began in late March and saw hundreds of people killed, most of them civilians.
Diplomats have said, though, that also involved in the violence are clan militias that are not necessarily linked to the Islamic insurgents. Clan elders and Ethiopian military officials have negotiated truces in the past but these have not held for long.
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.
A transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help, but has struggled to maintain control over the country.
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