Soldiers’ corpses dragged through streets

MOGADISHU – Insurgents dragged the corpses of two soldiers through the streets of the Somali capital and set their bodies on fire yesterday after a fierce street battle killed at least seven people, witnesses and medical officials said.

An Associated Press photographer saw insurgents drag the bodies of one Ethiopian soldier and one Somali government soldier through the streets of northeastern Mogadishu and then set them on fire. A similar scene grabbed the world’s attention after Somali militiamen shot down a US Blackhawk helicopter in 1993 during a failed mission to capture a warlord.The images of American troops being dragged through the streets led to the eventual withdrawal of UN forces and years of anarchy in Somalia.As one of the bodies was still burning, women wearing head scarves and long, loose dresses picked up stones and pounded it as a handful of young men looked on.Somali and Ethiopian troops, supported by tanks and armoured vehicles, entered an insurgent stronghold in central Mogadishu before dawn and were met by hundreds of masked insurgents.”Ethiopian tanks rolled out of the former Defence Ministry and moved into the nearby Shirkole area, which is seen as the stronghold of the insurgent groups, and they met with stiff resistance,” said Ali Haji Jama, a resident of the northeastern neighbourhood at the centre of the fighting.Other witnesses said minibuses filled with insurgents were racing through the city to reach Shirkole and defend against the Ethiopian advance.The same minibuses were used to carry away casualties, said Muqtar Abdulahi Dahir, a Mogadishu businessman who witnessed the fighting.Medical officials at Mogadishu’s three hospitals said they had recorded at least seven dead and 10 wounded by midmorning.Somalia’s government began the operation at about midnight Tuesday at the former Defence Ministry headquarters and plans to move forces into other parts of the capital, said Mohamed Ali Nur, the country’s ambassador in neighbouring Kenya.The operation is meant to try to stop militants from firing rockets at government installations, he told the AP.Nur denied that any Ethiopian troops were involved in the operation.Somali leaders have said in recent weeks that they were preparing a major offensive to stop the growing insurgency.Nampa-APA similar scene grabbed the world’s attention after Somali militiamen shot down a US Blackhawk helicopter in 1993 during a failed mission to capture a warlord.The images of American troops being dragged through the streets led to the eventual withdrawal of UN forces and years of anarchy in Somalia.As one of the bodies was still burning, women wearing head scarves and long, loose dresses picked up stones and pounded it as a handful of young men looked on.Somali and Ethiopian troops, supported by tanks and armoured vehicles, entered an insurgent stronghold in central Mogadishu before dawn and were met by hundreds of masked insurgents.”Ethiopian tanks rolled out of the former Defence Ministry and moved into the nearby Shirkole area, which is seen as the stronghold of the insurgent groups, and they met with stiff resistance,” said Ali Haji Jama, a resident of the northeastern neighbourhood at the centre of the fighting.Other witnesses said minibuses filled with insurgents were racing through the city to reach Shirkole and defend against the Ethiopian advance.The same minibuses were used to carry away casualties, said Muqtar Abdulahi Dahir, a Mogadishu businessman who witnessed the fighting.Medical officials at Mogadishu’s three hospitals said they had recorded at least seven dead and 10 wounded by midmorning.Somalia’s government began the operation at about midnight Tuesday at the former Defence Ministry headquarters and plans to move forces into other parts of the capital, said Mohamed Ali Nur, the country’s ambassador in neighbouring Kenya.The operation is meant to try to stop militants from firing rockets at government installations, he told the AP.Nur denied that any Ethiopian troops were involved in the operation.Somali leaders have said in recent weeks that they were preparing a major offensive to stop the growing insurgency.Nampa-AP