13/08/07 (B408) Shabelle. net / Au moins 16 tués ce lundi en Somalie – Somalia: 16 killed in Mogadishu (En Anglais – Info lecteur)

Mogadishu 13, August.07 ( Sh.M.Network) At least 11 people, including two policemen, have been killed in north Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on Monday afternoon.

Witnesses told Shabelle that a roadside bomb which was detonated by a remote control targeted a government military pickup truck, killing two soldiers on board.

Shafi Omar, a witness, told Shabelle that a contingent of Ethiopian troops was based closer to the site of the explosion when the government car was passing.

« When the landmine blasted, there were two commuter buses moving along the street and the Ethiopians riddled the buses full of passengers with bullets. Seven passengers instantly died in the first bus while three were killed in the next one, » he said.

Omar also pointed that he was the first civilian to rush to the area to help the victims after the incidents. « It was horrible; a large number of people have been wounded. There was blood everywhere inside the buses, » he said.

The wounded were rushed to the hospital and the Ethiopians went back to their base, he said.

The Somali government could not be reached for comments.

Hospital sources said that the number of people who sustained bullet wounds and admitted to the hospital was being brought one after another.

Meanwhile five civilians have been killed separately in Mogadishu Monday. Three have been killed and a dozen more have been wounded after a roadside bomb exploded at a minibus carrying a number of passengers near kilometer 4 intersection, a military base for the AU/AMISOM troops.

Two others were killed two after series of grenade blasts targeted the government soldiers in north of the capital. Witnesses said the blasts killed only civilians.

The incidents happen as Human Rights Watch condemned the Ethiopian troops in Somalia of recklessly bombing residential areas.

« There is strong evidence that the indiscriminate bombardment of populated neighborhoods by Ethiopian forces was intentional, » the report added. « Commanders who knowingly or recklessly order indiscriminate attacks are responsible for war crimes, » Kenneth Roth, executive director for Human Rights Watch.

Somalia has had no central effective government since 1991 when warlords toppled former dictator, Siad Barre.