Four killed in Mogadishu car explosion -witnesses

MOGADISHU, Feb 18 (Reuters) Four people were killed when their car exploded in Mogadishu today, witnesses said, but it was not clear what caused the blast in the chaotic city hit by near-daily attacks since a war in December ousted Islamists.

The incident occurred near a soccer stadium in the north of the Somali capital, where hundreds of people have fled their homes to escape the bloodshed.

The violence underlines the massive challenge facing President Abdullahi Yusuf's government in trying to tame a nation in anarchy since a dictator was ousted in 1991.

''When we heard the explosion, we thought a mortar had hit the area and people started fleeing without closing their shops,'' shopkeeper Mohamed Hussein said.

''The car is in pieces. The trunk of the car and the roof were blown apart by the explosion. I saw four skulls and bones lying in the car.'' A Reuters cameraman said he saw the charred remains of the car and the dead. ''The wreckage is still smouldering,'' he said.

Officials blame the violence on remnants of the Islamist movement defeated by government troops and Ethiopian forces in the brief war.

The attacks have mainly been on government installations and the administration's Ethiopian allies, who have been targeted with mortars, grenades and gunfire. But civilians have been the main victims.

Some Islamist fighters have vowed holy war since being routed from the strongholds they had controlled since June and have threatened to attack any foreign troops dispatched to the Horn of Africa nation.

Some 1,500 Ugandan troops are to deploy within days to the city as part of an African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission to restore stability.

Although some Somalis welcome their arrival, others feel the force will not achieve much.

Burundi's army said on Sunday the tiny central African nation would also deploy troops and an advance mission could go in days.

''Burundi will supply 1,700 troops and the first elements are expected to leave next week,'' Burundi army spokesman Colonel Adolphe Manirakiza said, adding that an additional 80 army officers would also be sent.

Diplomats have urged rich nations to back and fund the AU mission but only about 4,000 troops have been pledged of the 8,000 called for.

The government hopes the peace force will help it disarm residents of one of the world's most dangerous cities. The government had announced a disarmament drive after sweeping into the capital, but few weapons were handed in.

Reuters AB DB2110