Deadly clashes in Somalia between police and government troops
Monday, June 14, 2010
Heavy fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu between government troops and local police has killed at least thirteen people and injured another fourteen.
The clashes began yesterday in the Hamarjajab district when a dispute started between the police and army. Abdullahi Mo'alim Kerow, a police officer, described the incident to Reuters; "[t]he clashes came after some of the government troops started to rob a civilian car and the police were trying to stop it. We have collected bodies of nine government troops [...] and three unidentified civilians."
However, conflicting accounts claim it was police attempting to hijack trucks carrying food aid, and the army were intervening to prevent the theft.
According to Kerow, the injured were hospitalised, and the clash stopped shortly after. Ten of the wounded were civilians, and one later died, said Alie Muse Abdi, coordinator of ambulance services in the capital.
Sources
- "Somali forces in deadly clash" — Al Jazeera, June 13, 2010
- "Clash Between Somali Government Troops And Police Kill 13, Wound 14" — All Headline News, June 13, 2010
- Mohammed Ibrahim and Jeffrey Gettleman. "Somalia Experiences New Type of Fighting" — New York Times, June 13, 2010