Rights group says more than 100 Somalis were killed in September, more than 200 wounded - AP

MOGADISHU, Somalia: Fighting between Somali government troops and insurgents in the capital of Mogadishu killed 129 civilians last month and wounded another 217, a local rights group said Saturday.

The casualties resulted from explosions, shootings and planned assassinations, said Sudan Ali Ahmed, chairman of the Elman Human rights group.

"We urge the transitional federal government, Ethiopian forces and Islamic insurgents to stop the killings of innocent civilians and to protect the international human rights laws," he said.
Elman issues monthly report on the human rights situations in the country. It collects its daily reports from hospitals and residents of the capital and regions.

Mogadishu has been plagued by fighting since government troops and their Ethiopian allies chased out the Council of Islamic Courts in December. The Courts had taken control of much of southern Somalia for the previous six months, and vowed to fight and Iraq-style insurgency. Thousands of civilians have been killed in the fighting this year so far.

Somalia has not had a functioning governments since 1991, when rival warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

Source: AP