11 Dead as Somali Insurgents Attack AU Peacekeepers

Witnesses in Somalia's capital say at least 11 people have been killed in an attack on newly-arrived African Union (AU) peacekeepers.

Residents of Mogadishu say insurgents fired on the AU troops late Wednesday as the peacekeepers' convoy moved through the city. The soldiers returned fire, and the resulting gun battle killed at least 11 people, almost all civilians. No peacekeepers were killed, but two received minor injuries.

Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen shot dead two police officers who were checking vehicles for weapons on a road to Mogadishu's airport.

This week, about 800 peacekeepers from Uganda arrived in Mogadishu. They are the first of an expected 8,000-strong AU force to help Somalia's transitional government stabilize the war-torn country. So far, however, AU-member nations have raised only about 4,000 troops for the effort. - VOA News