Somalis killed in mortar attack

Somalis killed in mortar attack

Fighters have trained their guns on AU peacekeepers after the departure of Ethiopian troops [AFP] At least two people have been killed and nine others wounded after armed Somali opposition fighters attacked African Union peacekeepers in the capital Mogadishu, police say. The attack on Friday sparked a heavy exchange of mortar fire in the southern Taleh district. Colonel Ali Hashi, a Somali police officer, said: "The terrorist elements attacked our base in Taleh and the African peacekeepers in K4 area but there was no casualty on our side." Mohamed Sheikh Nor, a Somali journalist reporting from Mogadishu, told Al Jazeera: "Dozens of mortars have been fired from Mogadishu's sea port. "No one knows what this attack may mean in the future, but the fighters have always tried their best to target government troops and those of the AU." Al Jazeera's correspondent in Mogadishu said that the shelling was initiated by the Mujahidin Youth Movement, an opposition group that wanted to prevent the arrival of military supplies to AU forces. The AU mission in Somalia, which is the sole foreign force after the pullout of Ethiopian soldiers earlier this year after a two-year intervention, has come under repeated attacks by Somali fighters.