At least 10 people have been killed in heavy fighting between Ethiopian troops and armed Somali groups in the capital, Mogadishu.

Two Ethiopian helicopter gunships fired missiles at southern areas of the capital.

The clashes are the heaviest since the major Hawiye clan, which has partly controlled the Somali capital since 1991, reached a ceasefire deal with Ethiopian forces last Friday.

Gunfire rattled around the streets of the capital, sending residents running for cover in their homes, witnesses said.

Tanks roll in

The AFP news agency said five civilians were killed in clashes in the southern Ali Kamin area of the city.

A resident, Mohamed Ali Hassan, said: "I have seen two people killed by stray bullets and I have also seen three others wounded.

"I can see the Ethiopian tanks taking positions in our neighbourhood, in front of my house," said.

"I have seen a neighbour killed by stray bullets," said Hawo Moalil. "My younger daughter was wounded by a stray bullet."

Medics at one hospital said large numbers of wounded were being rushed there.

"Patients are coming to us by the minute, it is too much," a doctor at the Madina hospital said.

Explosions

Residents also reported five others killed in Gupta, also in southern Mogadishu, after artillery hit a garage.

"We don't know where the fire was coming from, maybe it was a mortar or an artillery shell. Five people were killed, three of them in the garage and two others were outside," said a resident, Ahmed Hassan Madobe.

He said that continued fighting prevented residents from collecting the bodies, and that six people had been wounded.

"The place was full of smoke after a big bang. Three people were killed inside the garage and two were in a compound next to the garage," said another resident, Asha Abdullahi.

She said nine people had been wounded and three were in a criticial condition.

Ethiopian tanks rolled into southern neighbourhoods after deploying nearby on Wednesday evening.

Ethiopian forces, which support Somalia's weak transitional government, chased the Union of Islamic Courts group out of the capital and the southern half of the country three months ago, but have come under increasing attacks.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Somali soldier inspects a car at a Mogadishu checkpoint on 24 March. (AFP)

Al-Jazeera