Islamist Fighters Downed Belarus Plane in Somalia Created: 26.03.2007 08:05 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 10:56 MSK , 3 hours 23 minutes ago
MosNews A missile fired by Islamist fighters was responsible for the plane crash that left 11 people dead in Somalia on Friday, the Reuters news agency quoted Belarus officials as saying on Sunday. "The plane was shot down," Transport Ministry spokeswoman Kseniya Perestoronina said in Minsk, adding that the large Ilyushin plane, in Somalia to assist struggling African Union peacekeepers, was hit at a height of 500 feet. A Somali radio and an Islamist website also said a missile hit the Russian-made Ilyushin used by a Belarussian firm just after takeoff from Mogadishu. But Somali Interior Minister Mohamed Mahamud Guled said it was more likely an accident downed the plane and confirmed that an investigation has begun. The crash came after three days of the worst violence since the January start of a campaign that drove out the six-month regime of militant Islamists in Mogadishu. Fighters believed to be a mixture of Islamists and disgruntled clan militia have been striking daily against government forces, Ethiopian troops and a contingent of 1,200 Ugandan soldiers in the vanguard of the African Union forcee. At least 20 people have died and hundreds have been wounded since Wednesday in fighting that has caused thousands to flee Mogadishu. Residents say the violence has accompanied a government-led disarmament drive resisted by Mogadishu's dominant Hawiye clan, many of whose members regard the drive as an attempt by the president, from the rival Darod clan, to marginalize them. President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government the 14th attempt to establish central rule in Somalia since the 1991 overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre's dictatorship and the anarchy that followed says it wants to secure the gun-infested capital before a reconciliation conference that's scheduled to begin on April 16. <http://mosnews.com/news/2007/03/26/belarusplane.shtml <http://mosnews.com/news/2007/03/26/belarusplane.shtml> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
