22 die in 24 hours of suspected cholera in Somalia, say doctors

Dozens of residents of the Somali capital fled on Tuesday following a night of mortar attacks, while another threat _ disease _ took its toll in the south. Doctors reported that as many as 22 people died in the past 24 hours in southern Somalia from a suspected cholera outbreak.

An insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attacks as elders of the capital's dominant clan accused government and Ethiopian troops of committing "crimes against humanity" in Mogadishu.

Also on Tuesday, African Union Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit made a one-day visit to Mogadishu, becoming the highest African Union official to ever visit the Somali capital.

Late Monday, Somali insurgents fired more than a dozen mortars into different parts of the capital, Mogadishu, and Ethiopian troops backing the government responded with artillery rounds. Five civilians died, including a child, and 14 others were wounded, an African Union spokesman and witnesses said Tuesday.

Dozens of residents of the affected southern and northern neighborhoods of Mogadishu on Tuesday began fleeing the restive city.

Doctors in Mogadishu and the southern Somalia towns of Afgoye and Bardhere reported that 22 people died of cholera in their jurisdictions or neighboring villages in the past 24 hours.

One doctor, Muse Shaikh Aden, reported that another 60 people have been admitted to Bardhere's main hospital for treatment in the past 24 hours.

It is difficult to establish the full extent of the suspected cholera outbreak because Somalia has not had a central medical authority for 16 years to coordinate a response to any disease outbreak or provide details. The Horn of Africa nation has been mired in anarchy since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another.

A mortar attack late Monday on Mogadishu's main port, where a few hours earlier the African Union began off-loading military equipment for its peacekeeping force, was part of a general campaign by insurgents to frustrate the work of the troops, said Capt. Paddy Ankunda, the African Union peacekeeping force's spokesman.

A group calling itself the Brigades of Tawhid and Jihad in the Land of Somalia claimed responsibility for the late Monday attacks.

It said in a statement posted on the Web site of Somalia's routed Islamic movement that it attacked several parts of the capital where "infidels live."

Elders of the Hawiye clan, which is dominant in Mogadishu, later Tuesday accused government and Ethiopian troops of killing innocent people, rape, torture and making arbitrary arrests against the capital's residents.

"If the international community does not intervene, the situation in Mogadishu will turn into a catastrophe, as its people are ready to defend themselves," said Ugas Abdi Dahir, who read the statement to journalists on behalf of his fellow elders.

President Abdullahi Yusuf's spokesman, Hussein Mohamud Hussein, declined to comment on the allegations.

African Union Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit, who did not make any comment on Mogadishu's almost daily violence, met with Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and other senior government officials.

"My visit is for symbolic reasons, to visit Somalia on behalf of the African leadership," Djinnit told journalists at the end of his meetings.

Mogadishu has become the main focus of an insurgency aimed at blocking the transitional government from establishing its authority there and stopping peacekeepers from helping the government stabilize the capital.

"Such attacks will never deter us from promoting peace and stability and the creation of an environment for dialogue among Somalis," Ankunda told The Associated Press on phone. "They fired six mortars inside the port, but none of our soldiers was wounded because we had taken precautions before the attacks."

A two-year-old boy and his uncle died in the overnight attack on the port when a mortar slammed into their nearby home as they prepared to sleep, said Khadija Haji Yonis, the mother, who also sustained a small injury on her thigh. Yonis spoke to The Associated Press at the Keysaney Hospital where she was being treated.

Elsewhere in a northern Mogadishu neighborhood, three civilians died when what were believed to be Ethiopian troops fired artillery rounds in response to mortar attacks, some of which crashed into their house, said Mohamud Raage Abdulle, a resident told The Associated Press on phone.

Abdulle said a mother and her six year-old boy were also wounded.

In December, Somalia's transitional government and Ethiopian troops routed a radical Islamic movement, but insurgents thought to be linked to the group continue to stage attacks.

Ethiopian forces began withdrawing in January. A complete withdrawal has been staggered to coincide with the deployment of African Union peacekeepers to avoid a vacuum.

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Associated Press writer Salad Duhul in Mogadishu contributed to this report.