Somalia

Violence in Mogadishu, France hands over pirates

Article published on the 2009-06-01 Latest update 2009-06-01 17:19 TU

A Somali government soldier lies dead in the street after renewed fighting in Yaqshid district of Mogadishu, 1 June 2009
(Photo:Reuters/Mowdli Abid)

Officials in the Somali capital, Mogadishu say there were clashes between troops and insurgents on Monday. Meanwhile, the French Navy has handed over four suspected pirates, two of them dead, to the authorities in Somalia's breakaway region of Puntlandand.

Official sources in Mogadishu said that a roadside blast killed five policemen in Mogadishu on Monday.

"The roadside bomb hit the car near K-4 junction, close to the African Union peacekeepers camp," they said, adding that the explosion came within hours of a fierce battle between Somali government forces and insurgents in a separate part of the capital.

Five other people were seriously injured in the explosion in a southern district of the capital.

In other news, France has handed over four pirates to officials in Puntland, the breakaway region in the north of the country.  Two of the pirates were dead and officials say that the pair were killed by Indian forces after an incident last week.

The Indian Navy said patrol boats received a distress call from the MV Maud, a Norwegian-owned ship carrying 10 Indian crewmembers, in the Gulf of Aden.

The vessel had radioed for help after another boat, carrying eight armed people, started to approach it at speed.

The French Navy took over the rescue operation to allow the Indian warship to escort three other merchant ships through the troubled area.

The two pirates who are still alive were arrested and are awaiting trial. There have been 114 attempted ship-jackings in 2009 so far, compared to 111 during the whole of last year.