Deadly clashes shake Somali capital

22/10/2009| IslamWeb

At least 19 people have been killed and 58 injured in a battle between anti-government fighters and African peacekeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, medical workers say.

According to witnesses, clashes broke out on Thursday after fighters launched mortar bombs at the city's international airport, as Sharif Ahmed, the country's president, flew out of the country.

Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu's ambulance services, told the AFP news agency it was "the worst such incident recently" in the city.

"Heavy shelling was hitting civilian populated areas, including Bakara market, Holwadag and Hodan," he said.

Peacekeepers from the African Union mission in Somalia are reported to have fired back in response to the attack.

Sharif, who was heading to Uganda for an African Union summit, was not hurt in the clashes, sources told news agencies.

Fighting in Somalia has killed 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and driven another 1.5 million from their homes.

Somalia has seen more than 15 transitional governments come and go since civil war broke out in 1992. 

PHOTO CAPTION

Map locates Mogadishu, Somalia.

Al-Jazeera