Two killed in Mogadishu demonstrations

Unconfirmed reports say two people were killed and at least 10 injured on Tuesday when peaceful demonstrations turned violent, a local source told IRIN. Thousands of people demonstrating against the refusal by traders to accept the 500 Somali shilling note, turned violent when bandits infiltrated the demonstrators to exploit the situation in order to steal and to loot businesses, a Mogadishu resident, Awil Hashi, said. Militia guarding the businesses opened fire to stop the looting and destruction of property, a businessman told IRIN. The stone-throwing mob burned tyres and shouted anti-government slogans. "They are demanding that the Transitional National Government [TNG] do something about the galloping inflation," he said. In one year the value of the Somali shilling has dropped from Ssh 9,500 to Ssh 20,500 to the US dollar, a depreciation of 116 per cent, a local economist told IRIN. The demonstrators brought business in Mogadishu's main markets to a standstill, said the economist. "Bakara market is like a ghost town as I speak to you," he told IRIN at 1500 local time on Tuesday. "The streets of Mogadishu are deserted, with no vehicles of any kind moving," said the businessman. The director of information for the TNG, Abdirahman Dinari, told IRIN that the government "strongly condemned the refusal of the 500 shilling note. It is legal tender and should be accepted by all." He said the TNG would take legal steps to force the traders to accept the money. The hardest hit by this action were the low-income families, said the economist. Mogadishu is reported calm but tense, with large numbers of police patrolling the streets on Tuesday afternoon.