Ethiopian troops massacre Somalis in Hidaya Mosque, Huriwa district Mogadishu
A witness named Omar told Garowe Online that he was inside al Hidaya Mosque in Huriwa district when Ethiopian soldiers stormed inside on Sunday.“The first person they [Ethiopian soldiers] killed was Sheikh Said Yahya, the Imam [prayer leader],” Omar said, adding that the late Imam opened the mosque door after the soldiers knocked.
“I stood above 11 dead bodies, some with their throat slit and others shot to death,” said the witness describing the gruesome scene. Of the 11 dead victims, nine were regular congregants at the mosque and reportedly were part of the Tabliiq wing of Sunni Islam.
A source who took part in Monday’s effort to bury the dead victims privately told Garowe Online that some of the victims had their hands cut off and their backs broken.
Another source who was arrested by Ethiopian soldiers yesterday at al Hidaya Mosque and released today said the soldiers ordered him and other detainees not to return to the mosque.
“They accused us [detainees] of attacking them [Ethiopian soldiers] and said that we were trained at the [al Hidaya] mosque,” said the source who did not want his name in print.
It is not clear why Ethiopian troops attacked al Hidaya Mosque, which is frequented by Tabliiq congregants who are reportedly not involved in the insurgency.
