Rights group: Ethiopian forces targeted Somali civilians

Thursday, April 24, 2008

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Amnesty International has accused Ethiopian troops in the Somali capital of "targeted killing of civilians" during a deadly raid on a mosque.

A spokesman for Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Wahide Belay, has called Wednesday’s Amnesty report "total rubbish."

He has accused the rights group of waging a "campaign to demonize" Ethiopia’s armed forces.

Thousands of Ethiopian troops patrol Somalia’s capital, propping up the weak Somali government, which is under siege by militant Islamists.

Insurgents have been waging an increasingly deadly campaign in Mogadishu for more than a year.

The mosque raid on April 19 killed 21 people, according to Amnesty.

Source: AP, April 24, 2008