|
MOGADISHU, Somalia Mar 9 (Garowe Online) - Five dead bodies were
discovered and buried Sunday in the Somali capital after
Ethiopian troops vacated 30th Avenue, a major thoroughfare that
runs adjacent to Mogadishu's main Bakara market.
The Ethiopian army contingent had been stationed at 30th Avenue
for the past nine days, residents said.
A local who returned to his home after the Ethiopians left the
area told Garowe Online that he saw the dead bodies, who were
all men.
He described dead body parts bit off by wild animals after the
corpses lay on the streets for several days.
The troops were dispatched to 30th Avenue last Saturday, when
rebels and government troops fought for hours along the road and
into Bakara market, killing scores of people.
Attacks
Police officers stationed at three locations inside Bakara
market were abruptly withdrawn today, following several grenade
attacks last night and today, officials said.
Casualty reports were difficult to confirm but the police
withdrew to the outskirts of Bakara and took control of
strategic roads leading into the market.
The free movement of people and traffic resumed after the
security forces left the market, although stores did not open
for business.
Police spokesman Abdullahi Shasha told reporters later today
that security forces had detained several people for attacking
the police at Bakara last night and this morning.
His claim could not be independently verified.
Somalia's Ethiopian-backed interim government has faced a bloody
insurgency since early 2007, with daily shootings, roadside
bombings and assassinations.
More than 6,500 people died in the violence last year, with
another 600,000 civilians displaced by the conflict, according
to UN figures.
|
Interent Repression in Ethiopia
