65 Reported Slain at Somali Soccer Game
At least 65 people were killed when security forces opened fire on the crowd at a soccer game in Somalia, diplomatic sources said Tuesday. The government said only three people were killed when troops fired on people stoning the president.
Unofficial fatality estimates from Friday’s shootings in Mogadishu range as high as 109, according to one source, who said 65 people were confirmed dead at the city’s Digfer Hospital.
More than 100 people were seriously injured, another source said.
Abbudllahi Farah Barre, first secretary at the Somali Embassy in Rome, insisted that only three people were killed.
He said security forces opened fire after “some provocateurs” began throwing rocks at President Mohamed Siad Barre.
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