Ethiopian forces kill five civilians in Somali bus: witnesses

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

MOGADISHU, (AFP) — Ethiopian forces accidently killed five Somali civilians and wounded seven others when they opened fire on a minibus south of Mogadishu, witnesses and elders told AFP Thursday.

The Ethiopian soldiers had been attacked by Islamist insurgents moments earlier and apparently mistook the minibus -- travelling south from Mogadishu to Wanlaweyn -- as hostile, the witnesses said.

"They were ambushed by insurgents hours before they opened fire on the bus. The bodies of five civilians killed in the incident were brought to Wanlaweyn," local elder Adan Nur Jisow said.

Witnesses said the driver survived but seven others were wounded.

"The driver told us that the Ethiopian forces sprayed gunfire on the minibus... It was dark and maybe they...