Thursday, September 23, 2010
The exchanged heavy artillery fire after fighting broke out following an attack on government forces and AU troops in the southern Mogadishu district of Hodon and Hawlwadaag.
"Several salvos of shells that hit in and around the main Bakara market left twenty people dead and 70 others wounded. Our staffs ferried most of the wounded to the hospitals in Mogadishu," Ali Muse head of a voluntary emergency service told Xinhua.
Most of the shells landed in a number of neighborhoods far from the battle areas with most of the casualties in and around the main Bakara market which was closed following the fighting which centered around the main route of Dabka Street that connected the government-held part of Mogadishu to the insurgent-run side of the restive coastal city, witnesses said.
Islamist groups of Al Shabaab and their allies launch almost daily attacks on targets of Somali government and AU peacekeeping troops based in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Somali government which controls only parts of Mogadishu with the support of the almost 6,000 AU pecaekeeping troops, has been vowing to drive back Islamist rebels determined to over run the only parts of Mogadishu that are not under their control.
Somali has been without a strong central government for almost two decades following the collapse of the government of former strongman Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991.
Source: Xinhua