15 Killed, 64 Injured in Fresh Fighting in Somali Capital

Fighting between the joint Somali-Ethiopian forces and Islamist insurgents early Sunday morning killed 15 and injured 64 civilians in Mogadishu the capital, witnesses and medical officials told APA.

After several minutes of fighting, around 20 mortar shells were fired causing many civilian casualties.

“I saw civilians on the ground. Nobody could confirm whether they are wounded or dead,” Du’ale Salah, an eye witness who runs a shop in the area, told APA.

“We are hiding in concrete buildings as mortars are coming in threes or fours,” he added.

Another witness Mohamoud Ali told APA that he saw four soldiers and one Islamist insurgent dead.

Hospital officials told APA that around 64 civilians mostly with shrapnel wounds had been admitted in their hospital.

The deputy director of Medina Hospital, Dr Dahir Dhere, told APA that around 44 civilians have been admitted including 6 children.

“The victims are coming in minibus, handcarts and donkey carts,” he said.

The director of Banadir Hospital, Dr Abdi Risak, said they received around 22 civilians two of whom died, including a pregnant woman.

“The victims include a family of 12. A mortar shell landed in their home. They are all wounded, some seriously,” he added.

Mogadishu has seen more violence since Ethiopian-backed troops of the transitional federal captured it from a group of Islamic Union courts in late 2006.

Somalia had been plunged in to anarchy since the overthrow of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, leaving thousands killed and millions displaced.

Source African Press Agency

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