Mortar blasts rock Mogadishu, seven killed

MOGADISHU, Feb 20 (Reuters) Mortar bombs hit several parts of Mogadishu before dawn today, witnesses said, killing at least seven people in one of the fiercest bombardments since an Islamist movement was chased from Somalia's capital last month.

The hilltop presidential palace, Villa Somalia, and the coastal city's defence headquarters were among the targets hit.

''They showered us with rockets and a mortar also hit the compound. Luckily no one was hurt,'' said a government soldier who was in Villa Somalia during the attack but declined to be named for fear of reprisal.

''Our troops and those from our ally Ethiopia were forced to fire heavy artillery,'' he told Reuters. ''We had to retaliate. These elements are being paid to cause all this destruction.'' A woman living nearby said several people were wounded in the surrounding streets, and a Reuters TV cameraman saw five bodies in a western neighbourhood also hit by mortar rounds.

At one Mogadishu hospital alone officials said there were more than 40 wounded.

A spate of near-daily rocket and mortar strikes have challenged the government's bid to impose security and let Ethiopian troops who helped it oust the Islamists go home.

Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle said two civilians were killed in the attack on the defence headquarters. He also accused Islamist remnants of paying the attackers.

''The insurgents are paying 100 dollar a day to whoever fires rockets and mortars at the government and people,'' he said.

TARGETING EXTREMISTS But Jelle said a 24-hour rapid response paramilitary unit that was unveiled yesterday would soon show results in its fight to stop the wave of guerrilla-style attacks.

''The plan is expand our control in the city so the extremists are no longer safe anywhere,'' he said.

With Ethiopian military help, Somali troops have boosted patrols and set up more checkpoints to help curb the bloodshed.

The attacks underscore the huge challenge facing President Abdullahi Yusuf's government as it tries to tame a nation in anarchy since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.

His administration says it is doing its best to police one of the world's most dangerous cities with little help.

Ugandan soldiers are due to deploy soon in Mogadishu as the vanguard of an 8,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force to replace the Ethiopian presence, which infuriates many Somalis who view Ethiopia as a centuries-old rival. Also today, one of three private media groups summoned by intelligence chiefs a day earlier said it was ''shocked and dismayed'' after being told to stop reporting unrest in the city.

Shabelle TV and radio said the deputy head of national security ''threatened the directors that (under) martial law... government soldiers can shoot and kill everyone they want''.

Last month, the government ordered Shabelle, HornAfrik Media and two other broadcasters shut down, but reversed the decision a day later after an international outcry.

Shabelle Chairman Abdi Maalik Yusuf Mohamuud said it was now ''crystal clear'' Somalia's independent media was under attack.

''The international community, which invested millions of dollars in the formation of this government ... should interfere in the matter and help,'' he said in a statement today.

REUTERS MS PM1518