19/05/07 (B396) BBC / Le Premier Ministre Somalien échappe à un attentat à la Bombe à Mogadiscio qui semblait le viser. – Somalia premier escapes bombing (En Anglais – Info lectrice)

A bomb was aimed at Ali Mohammed Ghedi’s convoy but it is not clear if it
exploded. No-one was hurt but one man was arrested, officials say.

The convoy was returning from the airport, where the bodies of four Ugandan
peacekeepers were flown home after they were killed on Wednesday.

This is the third apparent attempt to kill Mr Ghedi since he took office.

Somalia’s government has blamed previous such attacks on al-Qaeda.


« One of two men suspected of planting the bomb was captured on the site, »
government spokesman Abdullahi Muhyidin Mohamed told Reuters news agency.

At least two Somali police officers have been shot dead since Wednesday as
they took part in a clear-up operation in the main Bakara market.

‘Terrorist attack’

Uganda says it will not pull out its troops from Somalia, despite Wednesday’s
attack.

« It is a terrorist attack to try and intimidate our force. But
those are kicks of a dying horse, » Gen Nyakairima said.

It was the deadliest attack on the Ugandan peacekeepers since 1,600 soldiers
were deployed to Somalia in March, as part of an African Union mission.

A proposed 8,000-strong force is due to take over security duties from the
Ethiopian army.

The government last month said it had defeated Islamist insurgents after weeks
of bloody fighting, which killed some 1,300 people and led some 300,000 to
flee their homes.

‘Noble action’

AU commission chairperson Alpha Omar Konare condemned the attack on the peacekeepers
and urged the Uganda soldiers to remain engaged in the « noble action »
of helping Somalia.

Ethiopia’s troops have been in Mogadishu since December at the invitation
of Somalia’s transitional government fighting Islamist insurgents and clan
militiamen.

The attack came a day after Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf held talks with
his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Kampala over the mission.

Mr Konare appealed to western governments to support the AU mission to enable
it carry out its mandate in Somalia.