Somali Islamists attack MSF clinic: witnesses

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Islamist insurgents raided Wednesday a health centre near the Somali capital Mogadishu run by Doctors without Borders, killing a security guard and briefly detaining 20 local staff, witnesses said.Skirmishes broke out around a Doctors without Borders (MSF) centre at Hawo-Abdi, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Mogadishu between the centre's security guards and Hezb Al-Islam militia. "Heavily armed Hezb al-Islam militia attacked the MSF centre, the guards retaliated and heavy fighting broke out," Abdulahi Abshir, a local resident told AFP."I saw Islamists going into the centre, some of them were taking equipment from inside," he said.Another witness, Ali Adan Hashi, said the building was damaged when the assailants fired anti-tank rockets at it."The militia detained more than 20 local (MSF) staff members, including the people running the centre," said another witness, Hasan Yusuf.An MSF staff member, who asked not to be named, confirmed that around 20 local staff were briefly detained.
Source: AFP