Jan. 6, 2007 at 5:28PM
Somalis raged through the streets of Mogadishu Saturday throwing rocks at the Ethiopian troops who drove Islamist forces out of the capital.
The violent protests were a response to the transitional government's effort to disarm the population, The New York Times reported. National Public Radio reported at least two people have been killed, including a 13-year-old boy, and 17 demonstrators injured.
The Union of Islamic Courts seized control of Mogadishu in 2006, bringing a measure of stability to the city after 15 years of warlord battles, and expanded its rule to much of the rest of the country, beating back the weak interim government formed two years ago by the United Nations. But Ethiopia sent in troops in December and, within two weeks, drove out the UIC.
But Saturday's riots showed that the government still has a tenuous hold on Somalia. The country is so deep in weapons that Kalashnikovs sell for as little as $15.
The government ordered Mogadishu residents to surrender their arms by Thursday and threatened house-to-house searches.
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