2 Dead in Somalia March Violence

By NASTEEX DAHIR FARAH
The Associated Press
Sunday, February 11, 2007

KISMAYO, Somalia -- Two people were killed after an explosion hit a rally in support of foreign peacekeepers, prompting government troops to fire into a crowd of thousands, witnesses said.

It wasn't immediately clear if the explosion or the shooting caused the two deaths. Somalia's army chief, who attended the rally, was injured.

Thousands had marched through Kismayo, 260 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu, to support a proposed peacekeeping mission for Somalia. "Somali people need the help of Africans," they chanted. "Somalia's stability needs to be restored."

The crowd then gathered at the city's Freedom Park. An explosion went off as Army Chief Gen. Abdi Mahdi was to address the crowd; it was not immediately clear what caused the blast.

Government troops fired into the crowd, then opened fire on the streets of Kismayo, but it was not clear who they were targeting. Ethiopian and Somali government troops sealed off the park after the explosion.

An Associated Press reporter saw two dead at Freedom Park and counted at least 16 wounded people at Kismayo's general hospital.

The army chief was among the wounded, said Col. Abdirazaq Af Gudud, a senior army official who did not take part in the rally. Five other officials also were injured. It was not immediately clear how serious their injuries were.

Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, was the last major city held by the radical Islamic movement that took over much of the country's south last year before being forced out by Ethiopian forces and Somali government troops in January.

The African Union has proposed a peacekeeping mission to help Somalia's struggling transitional government stabilize Somalia, particularly after Ethiopia withdraws its forces.

The Islamic movement, which still has support in Mogadishu, has vowed to wage an Iraq-style insurgency. Attacks in the capital have occurred almost daily during the past month.

Late Saturday, troops fought unknown gunmen at a key government building in Mogadishu, said witness Mohamed Iyow Gedi. Five people were wounded, staff at Medina Hospital said.

The fighting involved heavy machine-gun fire and rockets, said Gedi, who lives nearby.

Earlier Saturday, two areas of Mogadishu were hit by mortar attacks that killed at least five people and wounded 10, witnesses said.

Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle said the attacks was the work of remnants of the Islamic movement.
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Associated Press writers Mohamed Olad Hassan and Salad Duhul in Mogadishu contributed to this report.