Hundreds turn out for 2nd day of food protests in Somalia

By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN
Associated Press Writer

Hundreds of youths hurled stones and blocked roads with blazing tires Tuesday in a second day of protests over soaring food prices that has frustrated residents already living in one of the world´s most dangerous war zones.

Meanwhile, an international rights group accused Ethiopian troops of torturing and killing civilians in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Ethiopia, whose troops are supporting Somalia´s shaky U.N.-backed government, denied the allegations.

And Islamist fighters said a U.S. airstrike overnight blasted a remote area of central Somalia hours after armed civilians met there. The U.S. military denied the claim.

The food protests were sparked by shopkeepers´ refusal to accept some bank notes, apparently over fears of counterfeiters. The protests were not as widespread as on Monday, when tens of thousands took to the streets and two people died when troops fired into the crowds.

On Tuesday, the protests were confined to two neighborhoods, but shops across the city remained shuttered with traders fearing the riot could spread and prompt looting.

"Down with those printing the fake money!" the young men yelled. "Down with opportunists!"

One youthful protester, Abdinur Ileyke, said: "We will not allow them to trade while we are dying (of hunger) before their eyes."

On Tuesday, shop owners met and agreed to begin accepting the notes again.

The U.N. food security unit warned last week that half Somalia´s 7 million people face famine. It blamed an enduring drought and soaring food prices.

In Mogadishu, the price of corn meal has more than doubled since January and rice has risen from $26 to $47.50 for a 110-pound sack. Food costs also have been driven up by the plummeting Somali shilling, which tumbled from about 17,000 to 30,000 per $1.

Protests and riots over rising food prices also have hit other nations, including Haiti, Egypt, Cameroon and Burkina Faso. The price of rice and other staples has risen more than 40 percent since mid-2007.

Somalia has seen years of violence between militias of rival clan warlords and now Islamist fighters, who are prosecuting an insurgency with roadside bombs and occasional suicide attacks.

Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in December 2006 expecting to remain only for weeks. They speedily drove out Islamist fighters _ who had seized control of most of southern Somalia, including Mogadishu _ but have since become bogged down in the country while supporting the U.N.-backed government.

Amnesty International said Tuesday that it has scores of reports from witnesses that Ethiopian troops slit civilians´ throats, gouged out their eyes and gang-raped women.

Witnesses said they have watched the Ethiopians become increasingly belligerent and indiscriminately shoot up entire neighborhoods when they come under attack.

In one case, "a young child´s throat was slit by Ethiopian soldiers in front of the child´s mother," the organization said.

Ethiopia vehemently denied the charges.

"We have never attacked the Muslims ... Our troops, have never, never cut throats. Never have mutilated a body. Never have fired on civilians," Foreign Affairs spokesman Wahide Belay told The Associated Press in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

Belay said hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers have died in Somalia and that about 3,000 are deployed there.

Also on Tuesday, two Islamist fighters said an overnight U.S. airstrike blasted the rural Odam area in central Somalia hours after armed civilians met there. The fighters, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said no one was hurt.

A spokesman for the U.S. military´s Central Command said there was no strike. "We had no activities there overnight," said Capt. Matt Hasson.

Last week, a U.S. airstrike killed the suspected al-Qaida leader in Somalia and 24 others. It was the first successful hit of several such attacks in Somalia, which the United States fears is a breeding ground and safe haven for international terrorists.

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Associated Press writers Michelle Faul and Malkhadir M. Muhumed in Nairobi, Kenya, and Anita Powell in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this report.