AU soldiers ‘fire on Somalia protesters’

MARKO, Somalia: At least six people have been injured and more than a dozen properties destroyed after African Union forces opened fire on demonstrators in the Somali coastal town of Marko, witnesses and officials have told Al Jazeera.
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AU soldiers ‘fire on Somalia protesters’

"It is the second day we are been attacked by them. We are protesting because we do not want them in our town," a trader, who only gave his first name as Abdi Fatah as he feared for his safety, told Al Jazeera on Monday.

"They are supporting warlords with blood on their hands. They destroyed more than 12 buildings."

The confrontation started on Sunday when an AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) water tanker was targeted by an IED allegedly laid by the armed group al-Shabab.

Locals said AMISOM responded by opening fire and arresting locals youths, triggering protests by people in the town.

"I was forced out of my home. Are they here to fight civilians or al-Shabab? I do not know what I did to them," a mother, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told Al Jazeera.

Government officials denied the residents

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