By Ahmed Mohamed
BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Suspected Somali insurgentskilled two Ethiopian soldiers in the southern town of Baidoa onWednesday, residents said.
Baidoa is the seat of Somalia's parliament. Businesses inthe centre halted as dozens of government soldiers, who arebacked by the Ethiopian military, began searching pedestrians,vehicles and shops for weapons.
"Men armed with pistols shot dead two Ethiopian troops inthe centre of town this morning," witness Abdulqadir Mohamedsaid. "The bodies lay in the street for nearly half an hour."
A Reuters reporter saw Ethiopian soldiers arrest five men.
Somalia's interim government and its Ethiopian allies arefacing a persistent insurgency by remnants of a hardlineIslamist group they routed from the city just over a year ago.
At least seven people, including four policemen, werekilled in the capital Mogadishu on Monday in the heaviestfighting for weeks between government forces and suspectedinsurgents.
Hundreds of under-equipped African Union peacekeepers fromUganda and Burundi have been unable to quell the bloodshed.
(Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Giles Elgood)
