15 die in Somalia as parliament demands gov't vote

[Alamuti Lotus]

Source: AP

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Mortar rounds fired by suspected Islamist insurgents crashed into Somalia's government complex on Thursday, killing three government soldiers, wounding a member of parliament and triggering a counterattack that killed a dozen more people.

The attack happened while parliament was in session to pass a motion asking leaders of the shaky government to appear within three days for a vote of confidence.

One member of parliament was wounded in the face and five government troops were also hurt. Government and African Union troops responded by firing mortars into the main Bakara Market. At least 12 people were killed and 40 were wounded there, said Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service. Among them was a little boy. He lay limply in his older brother's arms as he was rushed into a hospital.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100916/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia

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The so-called gov't and AU occupation force somehow do not land on the US State Department's "terrorist" listings, despite massacres such as this taking place fairly regularly; indeed, it is instead backed and funded to the hilt.

[Alamuti Lotus]

1. AU peacekeepers expand bases in Somali capital

MOGADISHU, Somalia – African Union peacekeepers said Friday they have worked frantically to establish new bases across Somalia's chaotic capital, in what officials said is a new strategic turn after Somali soldiers ditched more than a dozen key positions during a month of bloody clashes.

The force of some 7,100 Ugandans and Burundians has dashed across the seaside capital, setting up seven bases in the last month in the wake of bloodshed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

During that time, officers said, peacekeepers have scrambled to fill the gaps left by deserting Somali soldiers. In one recently won position, snipers stared out from positions where the corridors were still smeared with blood from a confrontation a week earlier.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100917/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia_peacekeepers



These pro-government, foreign occupation forces ("peacekeepers" in media parlance) hail from the armies of Great Lakes regimes currently suspected of war crimes in the Congo during the African World War; massacres such as described in the OP can be interpreted in that light. That detracts from the frail media refrain of "al-Qa'idah! al-Qa'idah! al-Qa'idah!", but it serves to remind that matters are often more complicated than what official government propaganda would prefer to portray.