20100129
africanews

At least 12 civilians were killed and 25 others were wounded on Thursday and Friday clashes between Islamist insurgents and AU peace keepers backed by government forces in Mogadishu, officials and witnesses said.
Somalia fighters_Mohammed Odowa
The fighting erupted late on Thursday and continued into Friday in capital's south districts in Hodan, Wardhigley and Howl wadag.

A resident Abdulkadir Salad told AfricaNews by phone on Friday that clashes was the worst in recent months.

Al-Shabaab, extremist group who accused AU peace keepers of shelling civilians areas, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Islamist insurgents also shelled at celebrations for anniversary of Sharif Sh. Ahmed in Mogadishu, where some 200 Somali officials were listening to poems to mark Ahmed's celebration.

Ahmed's government controls a few areas in the capital while Islamist insurgents run most of southern Somalia.

Residents have said mortars and artillery shells hit civilian houses in the capital.

The insurgents frequently fire mortars to bases of the AU peacekeeping forces and Somali weak government but AU and government forces react in the areas controlled by the rebel group.

The fighting in Somalia has killed over 19,000 Somalis since 2007 and 1.5 million people displaced inside the country while another 560,000 civilians have registered as refugees in neighboring countries. Somalia is one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies.