Civilians Feared Killed in Somalia
Helicopter gunships attacked suspected al-Qaeda fighters in southern Somalia yesterday – a day after US forces launched airstrikes in the eastern African nation. A Somali politician said 31 civilians, including two newlyweds, died in the assault, which was the first offensive in the African country since 18 American soldiers were killed there in 1993.
The attack was launched by two helicopters near Afmadow, a town in an area of forested hills close to the Kenyan border, 220 miles south-west of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
Italy has criticised the attacks on Somalia, expressing concern that ‘one-sided’ action could worsen tensions in the region and carry a high cost of innocent lives.
The Italian foreign ministry said, in a statement, ‘Regarding the US military operations in Somalia, deputy premier and foreign minister Massimo D’Alema has reiterated Italy’s opposition to unilateral initiatives which could set off new tensions in an area already marked by high instability.
‘Such operations also carry a high cost in terms of innocent victims among the civilian population.’
Italy, a former colonial ruler of Somalia, urged international institutions, including regional ones, to multiply their efforts ‘to favour a pacification process both internal and among bordering nations’.
D’Alema has called for dialogue among the various components of Somali society ‘to permit the isolation of violent factions and to effectively counter every risk of the development of formations tied to international terrorism’.
A Somali defence ministry official described the helicopters as American, but local witnesses said they could not make out identification markings on the craft.
Washington officials had no comment on the helicopter strike.
The US is targeting Islamic extremists, said the Somali defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to reporters.
Earlier, Somalia’s President said the US was hunting suspects in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in East Africa, and had his support.
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