U.N. evacuates two officers after Somalia attack

NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- The United Nations evacuated two security officers from southern Somalia on Tuesday after they were attacked by a group of armed Islamic fundamentalists.

The U.N. said in a statement that the two officers -- a Briton and a Nepalese -- came under fire on Monday night at a compound they were staying at in the port town of Merca.

The statement said a group of between 30-40 militiamen attacked the compound with small arms for around 20 minutes before being repulsed by local security guards.

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The pair were doing a security survey to determine whether U.N. agencies could resume humanitarian work there after a spate of recent threats and attacks forced the world body to suspend activities in the area.

The U.N. suspended work in Merca three months ago after unidentified militiamen sprayed gunfire at a plane belonging to the European Community Humanitarian Office.

In May, a bomb was placed on the roof of a building in the World Health Organization's compound in the town, but was defused before it detonated.

A variety of militias and fundamentalist organizations operate in the Merca area which, like the rest of the country, has been without central government since the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

However, clan representatives last month established a parliament-in-exile and elected Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president in the first real moves towards peace in more than a decade.

Militiamen frequently fund their activities by providing "security" to United Nations and non-governmental agencies, and frequently clash over the right to this lucrative business.

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