Mogadishu, Somalia (APA) – Ethiopian Woyanne troops have killed 12 civilians late on Friday in southern Somalia, following an ambush on their convoy by Islamist insurgents, residents said here.

Islamist fighters, opposed to the presence of the Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers in Somalia in support of the interim government, ambushed a convoy of Ethiopian Woyanne forces in a village 50 kilometres north of Wanlaweyn on Friday, triggering an exchange of mortar bombs and machine gun fire.

“After the fighting, the Ethiopian Woyanne troops moved into a nearby village called Kabaherig, where they were alleged to have killed 12 civilians at a water well,” said resident Mayow Osman.

It is not clear whether any of the Ethiopian soldiers or the insurgents were killed in the attack.

Islamist spokesman Abdirahim Issa Adow has accused the Ethiopians Woyanne of retaliating on the civilians whenever they are attacked by the insurgents. “The enemy troops mercilessly killed civilians after we attacked them because they treat all Somalis the same,” Adow said, adding; “They are always known to react like that.”

“We will carry on fighting the Ethiopian Woyanne until they leave our country,” he added.

“It was the worst thing we have ever seen in our life, we had to flee the village because the disgruntled Ethiopian Woyanne troops moved into our residences,” said an eyewitness Mohamed Ali Diriye. “When we came back we discovered the dead bodies of 12 of the villagers. We are now burying them.”