Waves of Mortar shells have killed at least three people and wounded more others in Somalia's strife capital on Wednesday night, at the last violence hit the southern town.

At least ten people wounded in somewhere of the town were hospitalized. Some of the were critical conditions, Madina hospital officials said, adding in the last week the hospital received most injured people since the Islamists' departure.

In the worst event of Wednesday's night attacks, mortar shell landed a house in Al-Baraka village. The rocket left two persons deed and two others wounded.



Residents said the pair was killed when mortar shells ploughed into a house in the Al-Baraka neighborhood in southern Mogadishu, the latest in a series of attacks in the area.

Also in the village another two people got injured in another mortar shell landed their house.

In another incident Hamar Jajab village, near the port of Mogadishu a mortar shell and left five people injured.

Police chief Said could not confirm any deaths. He said rockets were fired at a hotel where Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi opened a reconciliation workshop earlier this week. He had no further details.

The interim government has blamed remnants of a rival Islamist movement which controlled Mogadishu for several months last year for a wave of guerrilla-style attacks in the capital.

Assailants recently wage hit-and-run attacks against the Ethiopian troops in the capital, but their attacks eventually become miss target, and the only victims are the civilians.

By John Odyek and Joyce Namutebi - Kampala - THE deployment of Uganda's troops to Somalia has moved another step.

Defence minister Crispus Kiyonga tabled a motion seeking the approval of the deployment in Parliament yesterday.

Kiyonga said Uganda, being a member of the United Nations, is obliged to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security.

He explained that a stable Somalia would lessen the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.

"There is a clear nexus between the unstable Somalia and the small arms proliferation into Karamoja and beyond," Kiyonga said.

He noted that the country's defence policy was supportive of peace-missions, adding that ever since Somalia's turmoil started in 1992, the key players always seek Uganda's intervention to resolve the crisis.

Kiyonga said 1,400 soldiers would be deployed upon Parliament's approval.

The MPs, however, did not debate the motion following Speaker Edward Ssekandi's ruling that since it was a unique subject being handled by Parliament for the first time, it should be referred to the defence and internal affairs committee for scrutiny.

Ssekandi argued that this would also give MPs who were absent an opportunity to make an input.

His ruling followed a proposal by Bunyole MP Emmanuel Dombo that the matter be examined by the committee.

Opposition MPs were not present when the minister presented the request.

They stormed out of Parliament last week protesting the continued detention of the People's Redemption Army suspects.

However, Ogenga Latigo, the leader of the opposition in Parliament, said they support the Government's move.