(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) MOGADISHU — Ethiopian Woyanne troops allied to Somalia’s shaky government opened fire on civilians in a street in southwestern Somalia, killing 13 on Wednesday after an explosion there killed two soldiers, witnesses said.
Witness Mohamud Ahmed Nur said an explosion apparently caused by a remote-controlled land mine killed the two Ethiopian Woyanne troops, who were patrolling the town of Baidoa.
The soldiers, he said, then opened fire in all directions, killing at least 10 civilian passers-by outright.
Mohamed Hussein Diriye, a doctor at the town’s main hospital, said three more people died later of their injuries and that seven others were still being treated at the hospital, he said.
“It was a horrific scene, blood scattered everywhere,” said witness Jamal Haji. “I saw the dead bodies of at least 10 people lying in the middle of the road.”
Baidoa is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of the capital, Mogadishu, and is the headquarters for the Somali parliament. Several senior government officials also live there.