Mortar hits SOS Hospital in Mogadishu
21/08/2007
Late on Saturday night (18 August), fighting once more broke out between government troops and insurgents around the SOS Children's Village in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. The fighting, which lasted just over an hour, saw two shells land in the road between the children's village and the SOS Hospital (located directly opposite the village), with another shell landing in the hospital compound near the guards' room. Three people were wounded, including an SOS security guard, all of whom were admitted to the SOS Hospital. Two of the victims were seriously wounded and were transferred to the ICRC Hospital in Mogadishu on Sunday morning due to the nature of their injuries.
The SOS Children's Village is situated in a part of northern Mogadishu where insurgents are known to be hiding. On 8 August government troops moved into the area in an effort to flush them out. Since then, they been encamped close to the charity’s base and fighting has broken out on a sporadic basis, usually at night. All the SOS children and co-workers are safe in the village and the situation is being monitored constantly.
Relevant Countries: Somalia.