Attacks keep Somali govt. from taking capital

Gunmen fired a barrage of rockets in several locations in the Somali capital on Feb. 10, sparking artillery duels with government security forces, as guerilla-style attacks continue to intensify. Heavy shelling was reported near Villa Somalia, the residence of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, in the south of the capital, where artillery fire illuminated the night sky. Witnesses said gunmen fired grenades into Madina police station, triggering a gun battle. The attacks, which have steadily intensified since joint US-Ethiopian forces ousted the governing Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) last month, were yet another sign of spiraling instability in the country. Dozens of people have been killed in such attacks, targeting positions held by the government and its allies, in the past month. The Mogadishu attacks came hours after a bomb exploded in the southern Somali port of Kismayo, killing four people and injuring more than 20 others including senior military and police commanders. Among the wounded was the recently appointed Somali military chief General Adbi Mohamed, who was addressing scores of residents. Mohamed was injured in the legs and face by shrapnel. Four Somali army colonels were also wounded. The explosion tore through a ceremony and rally in support of foreign peacekeepers, prompting government troops to fire into a crowd of thousands, witnesses said. "There was a blast and people started running for their lives, all shouting 'bomb!, bomb!,'" said Mohamed Daud, who was in the crowd. "Police started firing in all directions.... Most of the wounded are civilians." Another witness, Abdulahi Mohamed, said he saw the bodies of two traditional elders, a civilian and a government soldier. Ethiopian and Somali government troops sealed off Freedom Park where the ceremony was being held after the explosion. The UIC have launched near-daily mortar, rocket and gun attacks since the religious movement fled after Ethiopia invaded with the help of devastating US airstrikes. The entire Somali government is based in the backwater town of Baidoa, about 155 miles north of Mogadishu. Yusuf, a former CIA-backed warlord, and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi have failed to make good on their pledge of relocating to the capital, which has been described as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Diplomats have urged the world to back and fund an African Union mission to stabilize the country, particularly after Ethiopia withdraws its forces, but only about 4,000 troops have so far been pledged of the 8,000 requested. The defeated UIC has vowed to wage an Iraq-style insurgency and to attack and kill peacekeepers, a specter that dampens hopes of such a deployment, which has been delayed since 2005 for fear of further confrontation and insufficient funds. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Mogadishu on Feb. 9, threatening to attack any peacekeepers sent to Somalia. In addition, the surging violence calls into question Yusuf's pledge to convene a national reconciliation conference to heal rifts in the country, torn apart by systemic bloodletting. Somalia, home to 10 million people, has lacked an effective central authority since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Since then, more than 14 internationally-backed attempts to restore a functional government in the country have failed, compounding the misery that has been caused by numerous natural disasters.