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Police operation provokes fighting

    NAIROBI

    The on-going police operation by the Transitional National Government (TNG) provoked fighting on Thursday, after attempts were made to erect a road block near the compound of faction leader Husayn Aydid. Confrontation between the TNG forces and militia loyal to Aydid led to five dead and at least ten wounded, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said. By late afternoon, the police had been forced to withdraw the checkpoint, local sources told IRIN. Heavy machine guns and anti-tank rockets were used by the police during the battle, cowing the residents of Mogadishu during the third day of the TNG operation. More than 100 people have been arrested, and a number of streets cleared and structures removed, before the fighting erupted midday Thursday.

    Aydid is currently in Ethiopia with other southern-based opposition leaders to discuss ways of pursuing the Somali peace process. [For more details see IRIN separate SOMALIA: Fighting flares over police cleanup]

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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