(DPA) — Somali insurgents attacked the Somali president’s convoy as he prepared to fly out to Ethiopia for crisis talks aimed at healing a rift with the prime minister, reports said on Friday.
The BBC reported that insurgents detonated two landmines near President Abdullahi Yusuf’s convoy as he travelled to the airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Ethiopian Woyanne troops opened fire after the attack and killed five civilians, the BBC said.
Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, also known as Nur Adde, were flying to Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for talks aimed at solving a bitter row some fear could jeopardise a recent peace deal signed with opposition figures.
Yusuf and Nur Adde have been at loggerheads for weeks about the premier’s decision to fire Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Dheere.
Supporters of Yusuf in parliament have threatened to call a no-confidence motion in the prime minister.
Mogadishu-based radio station Garowe said on its website that the African Union was expected to mediate between the warring leaders.
Nur Adde signed a ceasefire with moderate opposition leaders in June, but the agreement crucially did not encompass al-Shabaab, the insurgent group causing most of the havoc [for the puppet regime] in Somalia.