Insurgents attacked the airport in Mogadishu Tuesday engaging
government and Ethiopian troops.
The concerted assaults, an apparent escalation of recent
clashes, coincided with the arrival of hundreds of Ugandan troops
forming the vanguard of an African Union peacekeeping mission.
Two unmarked Russian-made Antonov cargo aircraft unloaded
military vehicles bearing AU markings, including armored personnel
carriers. The AU force is coming to relieve Ethiopian troops
looking to pull out after defeating the Islamists.
Over a dozen mortar rounds shook the airport, near the camp
where 350 Ugandans were staying after landing early on Tuesday.
The artillery barrage was followed by scores of masked fighters
firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns at government and
Ethiopian troops and at a base nestled in Mogadishu's industrial
area.
A local journalist pinned down by gunfire and having found
refuge at a nearby hospital reported at least two civilians killed
in the crossfire.
The brazen frontal assault underscored the unenviable task
facing African Union troops who will try to restore stability and
peace to a country stuck in perpetual lawlessness and anarchy since
1991.
A witness who saw the mortar rounds strike the airport could not
confirm any casualties.
"The military side of the airport has been hit. We cannot cross
from this side to the other side. We don't know if anyone has been
wounded there," the witness said.
Most of the Ugandans had been airlifted in by the Algerian air
force aboard C-130 cargo planes.
The last foreign peacekeeping mission, a well-funded joint US
and UN operation, ended in disaster and withdrawal in 1995
following relentless street battles with local militiamen.
Last week, 35 Ugandan officers landed in Baidoa, the interim
government's temporary capital in south-central Somalia. More are
set to follow to complete the 1,600 troops forming the Ugandan
contingent.
The proposed 8,000-strong AU force will back Somali President
Abdullahi Yusuf's government as it seeks to bring the war-torn
country under its authority.
Last year's Christmas period saw Yusuf rout rival Islamist
factions backed by the power of the Ethiopian army. They fled
south, vowing to continue a holy war against foreign troops while
adopting guerrilla tactics.
The insurgents are suspected of comprising both Islamist troops
and clan militiamen whose private fiefdoms are threatened by strong
central rule.
(China Daily via agencies March 7, 2007)
