Somali goverment assault on insurgents kills 17

At least 17 civilians were killed when Somali government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers launched co-ordinated attacks against Islamic insurgent strongholds in the capital Mogadishu, officials said today.

Among the dead were six women and a family of five whose home was smashed by shelling, said Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service. He said at least 61 other civilians were wounded in the heavy shelling and gun battles in northern Mogadishu.

A senior Somali military official claimed victory and said government forces will hold on to the areas they captured.

“We have driven insurgents from a large swath of the capital and we will not withdraw from those conquered areas like we used to do before,” said General Ali Araye.

He said there will be further offensives against the insurgents, but added that this is not the start of the government’s long-awaited offensive to drive out Islamic insurgents from Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage denied that his group’s militiamen were defeated during the attack, insisting they had inflicted casualties on government forces, but he did not give any figures.

Gen Araye declined to comment on casualties.

The government’s big offensive against the insurgents has been repeatedly delayed since the beginning of the year. According to some officials the delays have been partly due to the Somali army’s lack of equipment, training and a reliable system to pay its soldiers.

Since early last year government forces have been on the defensive, losing huge portions of Mogadishu to the powerful insurgent groups who have even come within striking distance of the presidential palace.

But government forces now appear determined to beat back militants. On Thursday they succeeded in routing insurgents from several of their northern Mogadishu strongholds, said residents.

Thursday’s shelling disrupted businesses in the city’s largest trading centre, Bakara market. Some of the shelling, mainly fired from government positions and African Union bases, randomly hit southern and northern parts of the war-scared city, Mr Muse said.