12 People Have Been Killed By A Bombing In The Central Somali

At least 12 people have been killed and more than 30 badly injured by a bombing in the central Somali town of Baidoa.

The governor of the Bay region, Abdifitah Mohamed Gesey, told the BBC that most of the casualties were women and children.

Mr Gesey said the bomb was planted in a small basket and hidden in a busy market in the centre of town.

It is the worst attack in Baidoa since Ethiopian troops took control from the Islamist group, al-Shabab, in February.

Witnesses said the bomb went off shortly after Somali government troops had arrived in the market.

"This was a disaster," Adan Hassan, a witness told the AFP news agency. "I saw [the] bodies of at least nine civilians, most of them women. The explosion occurred as people were shopping."

A spokesman for al-Shabab's military operations said it was behind for the blast.

"We targeted the Ethiopian and the Somali troops. About three of them died," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told the Reuters news agency.

African Union troops deployed in the Somali city of Baidoa Thursday, the first time the force has dispatched troops outside Mogadishu since it was set up five years ago.

The AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) sent 100 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers to the southern town of Baidoa, which Ethiopian troops captured from the Al Qaeda-allied Shebab militia in February.

“These 100 soldiers are the advance team for 2,500 AMISOM troops that will be deployed in phases. This team will be stationed alongside Ethiopian troops in Baidoa,” mission spokesman Paddy Ankunda said in a statement.

Baidoa, located 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, was the seat of Somalia's transitional parliament until the hardline Shebab captured it three years ago.

The AU force now numbering some 10,000 soldiers from Burundi, Djibouti and Uganda first deployed to Mogadishu in 2007 where it has been battling the Shebab insurgents seeking to overthrow the fragile Western-backed government.

“Today is a major step forward for the African Union Mission and for everyone who wants to see peace in Somalia,” said Audace Nduwumunsi, the deputy force commander.

The Shebab are facing widening offensive by regional forces, with Kenyan troops battling them in the far south and Ethiopian troops in the southern and western Somalia regions.

In recent months, Ethiopian troops have seized four Shebab bastions.

In August, the Shebab abandoned fixed bases in the capital city after their four-year bloody battles failed to oust the government and the rebels have now reverted to guerrilla tactics.

The AU troops have advanced to Mogadishu districts formerly controlled by the Islamist rebels, but have faced attacks by remnant fighters who have also been carrying out deadly suicide and grenade attacks.

On Wednesday, Somalia's Olympic committee chief and the football federation president were among four people killed when a female suicide bomber blew herself up in Mogadishu's national theatre.

In February al-Shabab merged with al-Qaeda, and still controls much of the south of the country.
Peacekeepers

It is the second bomb attack in Somalia in less than a week.

On Wednesday, eight people were killed in a suicide attack on the national theatre in the capital, Mogadishu.

Last week, African Union peacekeepers for the first time deployed to Baidoa, which is on a strategically important route.

Baidoa, which is 250km (155 miles) north-west of Mogadishu, had been one of the most important al-Shabab bases.

The town had, until they took control three years ago, been the seat of Somalia's transitional government.

Al-Shabab said it had withdrawn its forces as part of a "tactical retreat" and threatened to start a guerrilla war in response.