Somalia
Somalia: Burundi defense chief visits Mogadishu
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May 15, 2008 - 8:18:53 PM

MOGADISHU, Somalia May 15 (Garowe Online) - Burundi's defense minister, Major-General Niyoyankana Germain, spoke with reports Thursday at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

At first, the Burundian Defense Minister condemned an April suicide car bomb attack at the Mogadishu headquarters of Burundi's African Union peacekeeping contingent.

"Such an attack is unacceptable, because we [peacekeepers] are here to help the people," Gen. Germain said.

AMISOM peacekeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia

He indicated that his private meetings with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein focused on strengthening security cooperation between the two counties.

Gen. Germain said he welcomes the United Nations-sponsored peace talks between the Somali government and the opposition.

For security-related reasons, the Burundian defense chief's visit to Mogadishu was not pre-announced to the media.

Burundi has 800 soldiers deployed in Mogadishu under the auspices of the AU, part of a peacekeeping mission codenamed AMISOM that also includes Ugandan troops.

Soldiers killed

In Mogadishu, Somali government security forces came under attack at several junctions today.

At least three soldiers were confirmed dead when their armored truck hit a hidden landmine, witnesses reported.

The explosion tore the vehicle to shreds, but one soldier survived the wreckage.

An unknown number of bystanders were later detained for questioning.

In an unrelated incident, one soldier was killed and three civilians wounded when suspected insurgents attacked security forces at the livestock market, in Huriwa district.

An eyewitness describing the scene told Garowe Online that the dead soldier's body lay on the ground while the battle continued, adding: "Two other soldiers were taken hostage by the muqawama [insurgents]."

Police officials confirmed the attack, but declined to comment on reports of soldiers kidnapped by the insurgents.

In Mogadishu's Yaaqshiid district, Ethiopian troops conducting search operations arrested 8 people, including a man who was pulled out of a mosque, according to locals.

Somalia's capital is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians and thousands of combat troops from Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda.

But local rebels, led by remnants of an Islamist movement, have waged an endless series of guerrilla attacks against the government and its foreign backers since early 2007, when Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia.

Source: Garowe Online