VOA常速英语2007年-Somali Capital Empties as Residents Flee Renewe

Several neighborhoods in the Somali capital, Mogadishu are virtually deserted¹ as residents flee to avoid fighting between Ethiopian troops and Islamist-led insurgents³. From the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports Ethiopia has rejected charges its troops engaged in reprisal⁴ killings⁵ after rebels dragged the bodies of dead soldiers through Mogadishu's streets.

Reporters in the Somali capital say streets are empty in some of the most dangerous areas. The sprawling⁶ Bakara market in the southern part of the city was reported closed for a second day.

Tens of thousands of people fled during the past few days to avoid what one witness told VOA was some of the worst violence in Mogadishu in months.

It began Thursday, when Ethiopian soldiers launched house to house searches and shelled suspected insurgent² hideouts in southern parts of the city.

Civilians⁸ complained that the Ethiopian troops had fired indiscriminately in reprisal attacks after insurgents dragged the mutilated bodies of dead soldiers through the streets of the capital.

The group Human Rights Watch accused both soldiers and insurgents of violating the laws of war during the exchange of hostilities⁹.

But Bereket Simon, a senior adviser¹⁰ to Ethiopia's prime minister, vehemently¹¹ denied there had been any revenge attacks or targeting of civilians.

"Our army is not trained in that fashion," said Bereket Simon. "It is an army who knows its mission and gives top priority to the safety of the civilian⁷ people. So that is not true."

The image of dead soldiers dragged through the streets of the capital is reminiscent of the 1993 incident in which Somali militiamen displayed the mutilated bodies of American servicemen killed when their Black Hawk¹² helicopter was shot down. The incident prompted the pullout of U.S. forces from Somalia.

Ethiopian spokesman Bereket soundly rejected any comparison between events of the past few days and the Black Hawk incident.

"This is an accident and it cannot have an impact on Ethiopian soldiers, I assure you," he said. "We have made some sacrifices, but that is not that serious in our opinion. We have improved the situation in Somalia. There is more or less stability in most parts of Mogadishu, and last time somehow this accident happened, and we are singling out the perpetrators and targeting them, so it cannot be contrasted with Black Hawk Down."

Military analysts¹³ say Ethiopia sent as many as 2,000 fresh troops to Somalia in the past week, to bolster¹⁴ a force estimated to be in excess of 50,000. Ethiopia dispatched troops to Somalia almost a year ago to aid an interim¹⁵ government overwhelmed by Islamist insurgents.

Ethiopian leaders have said they would withdraw from Somalia in favor of a robust¹⁶ international peacekeeping force capable of restoring order in a country that has suffered more than a decade and a half of political turmoil¹⁷. But U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says sending peacekeepers to Somalia under current conditions is 'not a realistic or viable¹⁸ option'.