Friday December 26, 2008 (HOL) -  Reports from the city of Afgoye in Lower Shebelle region say that Ethiopian Woyanne troops stationed in the area opened fire and killing and wounding several civilians.

It is reported that 2 civilians died and three were wounded after the driver of the car they were travelling on failed to immediately stop the car after Ethiopian troops ordered him to do so. The victims are residents of a village named Da’arta and were milk traders.

It is not the first time Ethiopian troops open fire on civilian passengers. These incidents usually follow when drivers speed away or fail to stop at Ethiopian check points.

Not long ago similar incident involving Ethiopian troops and Somali civilians took place near the city of Wanle-Weyn. In that incident, Ethiopian troops killed and wounded several people.