Soldiers take revenge on Somali civilians

Mogadishu, 9th November, 2007 - More than 70 people have died and more than 200 have been wounded in battles in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

Ethiopian forces are now engaged in revenge attacks on locals after the bodies of Ethiopian soldiers were dragged through the streets.

In one of the ugliest days of fighting on the streets of the Somali capital, Ethiopian troops backing the fledgling Somali government fought insurgents in an up-close battle that bodies dragged through the streets of violent Mogadishu, with crowds cheering.

The incident has sparked outrage among the Ethiopians, who fanned out across the city in search of militias and began shooting civilians indiscriminately.

Officials say corpses and the wounded have been strewn on the narrow streets of the capital, days after aid agency Doctors Without Borders warned that the intensifying fighting was preventing medical help from reaching the injured.

Most of the dead are believed to be civilians, killed by shells fired into markets and residential areas.

Doctors say hospitals are overflowing with badly injured people.

Ethiopian soldiers are reported to have fired cannon shells into an area of the south of the city where insurgent militia men are thought to be based.

Source: Malaysia Sun