Somali soldier fires at crowd seeking food, 3 killed

[Castro]

25 Jun 2007 16:07:40 GMT

Source: Reuters

 

By Guled Mohamed

 

MOGADISHU, June 25 (Reuters) - A Somali government soldier opened fire on Monday at a crowd clamouring for food aid in Mogadishu and killed at least people, witnesses said.

 

Three others were seriously wounded when the soldier fired in an apparent attempt to disperse a multitude trying to barge into a local authority building in an eastern district of the Somali capital where the grain was to be distributed.

 

"People tried to push through a gate before the food aid arrived," witness Halima Salad said. "One of the soldiers opened fire at the crowd. He killed three people and wounded three."

 

Two other witnesses spoke of three dead.

 

But Halimo Abdullahi, who lives in the same Abdiaziz district, said he believed five people had perished, and some local media echoed that number.

 

"He shot at the crowd without warning. The people were waiting for food aid that was to be distributed by a local organisation. This is cold-blooded murder," he said.

 

Government officials did not comment on the latest bloodshed in the city. And senior police officials were unavailable.

 

Millions of Somalis are suffering food shortages due to their nation's unrelenting violence, drought and floods in the last two years, and poor access for aid organisations.

 

Somalia has been without effective central rule since the 1991 ouster of a dictator by warlords plunged the country into anarchy. Since then, thousands have died from war and hunger.

 

Somali authorities from an interim government set up in 2005 in the 14th attempt to restore central rule have imposed a curfew on Mogadishu to try and stem violence, but sporadic gunfire and explosions can still be heard in the night.

 

The government faces an Islamist-led insurgency after routing Islamists from Mogadishu late last year with the help of Ethiopian troops.

Reuters

[Castro]

Insecurity restricting aid operations

 

25 Jun 2007 14:30:05 GMT

Source: IRIN

 

NAIROBI, 25 June 2007 (IRIN) - Insecurity and violence in Somalia's capital Mogadishu are limiting the population's ability to make a living and restricting aid agency operations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said.

 

"An atmosphere of fear has intensified within the population of Mogadishu. Intimidation is obstructing the implementation of humanitarian activities," OCHA Somalia said in its latest report, issued on 22 June.

 

It said violence had intensified since the postponement of a national reconciliation conference that had been scheduled for 13 June. The conference is now scheduled for mid-July.

 

The announcement on 19 June by the government of an amnesty for insurgents has had no apparent effect on security in the city, OCHA said.

 

At least a dozen explosions and attacks on government targets have been recorded since 22 June, a local resident, who requested anonymity, said.

 

"Unfortunately, the amnesty does not seem to have persuaded those who are fighting," he said. He said civilians were often caught in the crossfire.

 

As of 20 June, the Protection Movement Tracking initiative estimated that at least 2,600 people had fled insecurity and violence in Mogadishu during June, according to OCHA.

 

However, despite the violence, at least 117,000 of the 400,000 people displaced from Mogadishu earlier this year had now returned, many from regions close to Mogadishu, such as Lower and Middle Shabelle.

 

Others returning from Dobley and Afmadow (Lower Juba region, near the Kenyan border) were being hampered by reported tensions in Kismayo, 500km south of Mogadishu, between two clans within the TFG forces.

 

OCHA said information collected from 238 roadblocks/checkpoints in south-central parts of the country indicated that humanitarian convoys were being delayed for two to three days on average.

 

"Passage fees are reported to range from US$20 to $500 per truck at checkpoints and roadblocks," OCHA added.

Reuters

[Faarax-Brawn]

Whatever compelled the soldier(Moryaan)to do that?

 

:mad:

[Wigad]

Carelessness, hate for the people, orders from above,no fear of god, and alot of other things that could have made these fools do stupidly outrageous things.