Somali insurgents launched an attack this morning against the self-proclaimed Somali government’s complex, killing three soldiers and wounding a member of parliament. The strike came while parliament was in session.
The African Union troops, which have been propping up the government, responded to the attack by firing a number of mortar shells against the Baraka Market, one of the busiest marketplaces in Mogadishu.
According to ambulance services at least 12 people were killed in the shelling and another 40 were wounded, seemingly all civilians. Children were among the casualties of the strike.
African Union troops have regularly responded to attacks by al-Shabaab with attacks on civilian neighborhoods, arguing that even densely populated neighborhoods are legitimate targets since they are under militant control.
Internal AU reports have expressed concerns over the large numbers of civilians killed in indiscriminate attacks by AU forces. Despite the massive evidence to the contrary, AU military officials insist the “extremists” are responsible for all civilian deaths in the nation.
What a tragic farce! Incomprehensible that the West is supposed to engage at all in such a mess. Absolutely meaningless and irresponsible, in my opinion. But of course accountability does not exist with the self-exclaimed leading nation at all, and alas it spreads like a vicious fire. What about exchanging the Homeland Security with Homeland Accountability, and if or when it ever succeeded, you might take an interest abroad. It is simply INSANE to focus militantly in the diverse Chaostans, while the very own establishment back home is not held accountable in any meaningful or lawful manner and the OBVIOUS and NECESSARY basic problems at home are not faced at all.