Mortars hit Mogadishu as first peacekeepers arrive

A fresh wave of violence broke out in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, yesterday just hours after African Union peacekeepers arrived at the airport. At least a dozen mortar rounds were fired at the airport, disrupting the welcoming ceremony for nearly 400 Ugandan troops. None of the Ugandans were injured.

Street battles between insurgents and police followed and continued throughout the day. Witnesses claimed around 100 gunmen were involved and three civilians were reported to be dead. Many of the insurgents were carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers and were covering their faces.

The Ugandan troops are the first of 4,000 peacekeepers expected to arrive in the coming months. The AU hoped to send 8,000 peacekeepers to Somalia, a plan which received the full support of the United Nations Security Council.

There are currently several thousand Ethiopian troops inside Somalia after Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, helped Somalia's weak interim government to drive out the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), the organisation which controlled Mogadishu and much of central and southern Somalia.

The presence of the AU forces is supposed to allow Ethiopian troops, who are loathed by many Somalis, to leave the country. But AU member states have only pledged 4,000, fearing they will get sucked into a bloody conflict. Insurgents have vowed to attack foreign peacekeepers and regional analysts and diplomats fear that the troops will be targeted regularly.

The Islamic Courts dissolved itself as an organisation in late December as Ethiopia helped the Somali government take control of the country. But since mid-January insurgents thought to belong to the extremist al-Shabbab militia, which formed part of the UIC's fighting force, have carried out almost daily attacks against Somali government institutions and Ethiopian troops.

By Steve Bloomfield, Africa Correspondent