Many dead in Somalia blast

06/02/2008| IslamWeb

At least 20 people are reported to have been killed a grenade attack in northeastern Somalia.

The grenade was thrown into a crowded house in the port of Bosaso in the semiautonomous Puntland region.

Most of those killed were Ethiopians believed to be on their way to find work in the Arabian Peninsula, which lies across the Gulf of Aden.

Local officials said they were unsure why Ethiopian were targeted in the attack.

Ethiopia and Somalia have a long history of tense and, at times, violent relations.

Ethiopian troops are currently propping up a shaky UN-backed government in the southern part of the country.

Puntland, unlike the south of the country, has been relatively peaceful since Somalia's last functioning government collapsed in a 1991 revolt, leaving rival warlords to turn on each other and divide the nation among squabbling clans.

 PHOTO CAPTION

Map of Somalia

Al-Jazeera

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