Somali Mosque Raided After Blast

July 10, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6287996.stm

omali police have arrested an unknown number of people from a mosque in the capital, Mogadishu, while searching for insurgents following a grenade attack.

A BBC correspondent in the city says the mosque raid occurred in a southern suburb during evening prayers.

Mogadishu is suffering from recurring violence, blamed on Islamist insurgents and Hawiye clan fighters.

One person has died in a blast in the city's main market which has re-opened after a five-day weapons dispute.

The BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says the closure affected most of the city, as many of the residents depend on Bakara market, either to earn a living or to buy necessities.

The latest violence comes just days before a planned national reconciliation meeting on 15 July.

Islamists and Mogadishu's dominant Hawiye clan are opposed to the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

They have been in the country since December, when they helped the government troops to oust the Union of Islamic Courts.