NAIROBI: Amnesty International called on Ethiopia to investigate allegations that its troops killed at least 21 people, including 11 unarmed clerics, in a mosque in the Somali capital.

The rights group cited several sources which said Ethiopian troops carried out the killings on April 19. The Ethiopian government has rejected the claims.

At least 10 other people were killed by Ethiopian forces near the Al-Hidaya mosque in northern Mogadishu, bringing the death toll to 31, an Amnesty statement said.

"Seven of those killed at the mosque were reported to have had their throats cut, a form of illegal execution practised by Ethiopian troops in Somalia," it said.

Mogadishu residents and witnesses have said Ethiopian forces carried out the mosque killings. But the Ethiopia foreign ministry has accused terrorists of carrying out the killings.