At least seven people have been killed in Mogadishu as Ethiopian troops clashed with remnants of the Islamic courts movement in the worst fighting seen in the Somali capital for several weeks.

Violence began before dawn on Saturday in the city, where an interim government backed by Ethiopia and Western nations is struggling to exert authority.

At least seven people, including a woman, died during the violence.

Witnesses said they had seen fighters confronting government and Ethiopian troops, as machine-gun fire and mortar rounds were exchanged.

Some fighters could be seen firing rocket-propelled grenades.

The fighters briefly occupied a police station in south Mogadishu, before heading back out of the area, chanting "God is great," locals said.

Tahir Mohammed Mahmoud, an administrative assistant, said at least 35 people were undergoing treatment at Mogadishu's Medina Hospital from injuries suffered during the fighting, including some who were seriously wounded.

He said it was the worst fighting, and heaviest day for hospital admissions, for at least four months in the city.

Divisions

Another witness to the fighting, Hassan Hussein, said he had seen two dead Ethiopian soldiers. Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for confirmation.

The latest fighting comes as political divisions between Somalia's president and its prime minister threaten to split the fledgling administration.

Abdullahi Yusuf, the president and Ali Mohamed Gedi, the prime minister, have feuded almost from the moment they came to power in late 2004 after peace talks in Kenya.

But their rift widened earlier this year as the two men backed different concerns, with both hoping to exploit their country's potential oil resources.

Somalia's fragile government has faced an Iraq-style conflict with roadside bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks since it routed the Islamic courts movement in January with the help of Ethiopia's military.

PHOTO CAPTION

Fresh fighting in Mogadishu. At least seven people, including a woman, died
in the fighting. [AFP]

Al-Jazeera