12. januar 2007

During peace talks, a showdown between gunmen in Mogadishu Seven of the leading warlords in Somalia, who have been battling each other for years, met with President Abdullahi Yusuf in the capital Mogadishu and agreed to lay down their arms. They even issued a nice statement about cooperating to create a peaceful Somalia. More of a hint of things to come, however, is the fact that while the talks were ongoing, one of the warlord's gunmen battled the presidential guard outside, resulting in at least five fatalities. The reason? A quarrel over parking. The gun battle, in which a rocket-propelled grenade was used, was reportedly sparked by a dispute over where to park an armoured vehicle.  Probably the only city in the world where parking wardens bring RPGs. 3:09:41 PM    comment []  trackback []

Explosion on US embassy in Greece An attempted terrorist attack on the US embassy in Athens: An explosion has hit the US embassy compound in the centre of the Greek capital, Athens. Police said a small rocket-propelled grenade or similar device was fired into the front of the embassy. Fire engines and police cordoned off the area around the fortified building. The US State Department said there were no injuries. Does not appear to be an attack by any significant terrorist organisation, judging by scale on success rate. PS: The attack appears to be a terrorist plot that went down the drain. "This is an act of terrorism. We don't know where from," Attica Police Chief Asimakis Golfis said. "There was a shell that exploded in the toilets of the building ... It was fired from street level." Then again, it takes some level of dedication to obtain and use an RPG in Greece. 7:48:07 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.02.2007; 06:22:53.