Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Somali militants threaten peacekeepers

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published February 23, 2007

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Extremists in Somalia threatened to carry out suicide attacks against African Union peacekeepers who are to begin deploying in the coming days, and the capital's international airport came under mortar fire Thursday.

At least two mortar rounds exploded near the runway but caused no damage, airport director Mohamed Ahmed Siyad said. There were no injuries, he said.

In the capital, Mogadishu, two local officials were gunned down late Wednesday. No one has claimed responsibility, although two suspects have been arrested, said the deputy defense minister.

Meanwhile, a newly formed extremist group known as the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations posted a new warning against planned peacekeepers.

"We promise we shall welcome them with bullets from heavy guns, exploding cars and young men eager to carry out martyrdom operations against these colonial forces," said a man who appeared in a video posting on an Islamic Web site. He was reading from a statement by the newly formed group.

The first peacekeepers from the African Union, a small Burundian advance team, are scheduled to be on the ground as early as today.

The AU peacekeeping force, which is planned to reach a level of 8,000 troops, is meant to help the fragile, transitional government establish security in the country following decisive battles with a radical Islamic movement in December and January. The U.N. Security Council approved its deployment in a unanimous vote Tuesday.

The peacekeepers will have to confront the growing violence that has plagued Mogadishu.

[Last modified February 23, 2007, 01:13:46]