Mortar attack kills at least 17 at Somali market

October 7, 2008 — Mortar shells slammed into a busy market in Somalia's capital yesterday, killing at least 17 people as humanitarian agencies appealed to the international community to help the country's desperate population.

Also yesterday, a remote-controlled land mine killed a Somali driver and wounded two aid workers, an Italian and a Somali, in the port town of Merka, some 60 miles southwest of Mogadishu.

The aid workers' injuries were not critical, said Dr. Abdi Rahman of Merka Hospital, who treated the men.

Witnesses said the fighting in Mogadishu killed at least 17 people, including a 13-year-old. The fighting started when insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace but missed, military spokesman Dahir Hersi said.

Al-Shabab, a radical group on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, claimed responsibility for the attack. Mortar shells then slammed into the bustling Bakara Market, where people can buy everything from packets of rice and sugar to grenades and AK-47s.

The government suspects insurgents use the market as a base and it often comes under attack.

A joint statement from 52 aid organizations said "the international community has completely failed Somali civilians," appealing for all warring sides to allow aid workers unhindered access.

"The poorest of Mogadishu's residents have no means to flee the extreme violence and have limited means to earn a living, leaving them completely dependent on humanitarian assistance," the statement said.

Somalia is among the most violent and impoverished countries in the world. The arid nation of some 8 million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a socialist dictator in 1991 then turned on each other.

A quarter of Somali children die before they turn 5, and nearly every public institution has crumbled.

Fighting is a daily occurrence in Somalia, with violent deaths reported nearly every day. Late last month, Somalia's warring sides pounded the capital with mortar rounds and gunfire, killing 30 people — including a family of seven.

Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida have been fighting the government and its Ethiopian allies for control since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006. Within weeks of being driven out, the Islamists launched an Iraq-style insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians to date.

In recent months, the militants appear to be gaining strength and sidelining the fragile government. The group has taken over the port town of Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, and dismantled pro-government roadblocks. They also effectively closed the Mogadishu airport by threatening to attack any plane using it.