25 Aug 2009
At least 13 people have been killed as rebels launch fresh attacks on pro-government forces in Somalia, rejecting calls for a truce during Ramadan.

Only a day after rejecting a government call for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the insurgents attacked a group of Somali soldiers in the capital, Mogadishu.

The hour-long conflict came to an end after African Union troops intervened, opening heavy gunfire on the fighters and killing around 12 insurgents and one Somali soldier.

Some 14 others were injured in the incident, witnesses told Press TV on Monday.

A day prior to the event, President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed had called for an end to the fighting during Ramadan to allow people to pray.

The rebels, however, scorned the government plea, accusing the president of trying to hide behind religion while he rearmed his troops.

"We will not accept that call for a ceasefire. This holy month will be a triumphant time … and we will fight the enemy," Hizbul Islam leader, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys told a news conference.

Describing Ahmed's western-backed government as "a new car the United States has bought for Somalia", Aweys added that Washington had forgotten to provide the automobile with a capable driver.

"We will burn this vehicle down, and we will force the confused driver out," the rebel leader vowed.

Ahmed's interim government holds only a few limited pockets in Mogadishu and some areas in the south, while the insurgents, including the notorious al-Shabaab group, have been controlling most of the country.

In the past few months, alone, the conflict in the poverty-stricken Horn of Africa nation has resulted in the deaths of over 17,000 and the internal displacement of an estimated 250,000.
presstv