Somali governor escapes roadside explosion - AFP

Mogadishu - A central Somali governor escaped a roadside explosion as violence in the lawless Horn of Africa nation killed three civilians, police said on Sunday.Yusuf Ahmed Hagar, the governor of central Somalia Hiran region, escaped a roadside bomb in Beledweyen, about 350 kilometres (215 miles) north of Mogadishu.

His bodyguards opened fire and killed a civilian, police official Hussein Abdullahi told AFP.Gunmen also killed a government official in northern Mogadishu Suq-Ba'ad neighbourhood while Ethiopian forces based in that area shot dead another civilian, said Somali police spokesperson Abduwahid Mohamed.In recent months, the Somali capital has been hit with a spate of guerrilla-style attacks against the government forces and the Ethiopian troops backing them.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence, often ending up as victims of the insurgents' roadside bomb and grenade attacks as well as of the government forces' response.The latest violence comes as Somali opposition leaders are meeting in the Eritrean capital Asmara in a bid to form a united platform which aims to end Ethiopian presence on Somali territory.

The gathering, which got underway on Thursday, was organised by Somali leaders who had boycotted a clan-based reconciliation meeting sponsored by the interim government and the international community that wrapped up last month.Years of clan bickering exploded with the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and spawned a deadly power struggle that has defied numerous attempts to restore peace.