20100523
PRESS TV

At least 16 people, including six children, have been killed and dozens injured in heavy gun battles in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, residents and medics say.

The clashes erupted after Somali fighters launched an attack on government troops' bases in northern districts of Shibis and Bondhere, a Press TV correspondent reported on Sunday.

"I have counted the dead bodies of six children and their two parents who were killed when mortar shells rained on our place. We don't know where to hide because no place is secure," said Bondhere resident Asho Abdi.

Mogadishu paramedic officials confirmed the death of at least 10 civilians, adding that the wounded were all civilians.

The few remaining residents are fleeing their homes as warring sides have engaged in deadly gunfire over the control of frontlines.

Meanwhile, residents have spoken of tanks belonging to African Union forces in the area to help push back the fighters, who overpowered Somali soldiers and were advancing towards the presidential palace.

According to al-Shabab fighters, the latest offensives were preplanned by the group in order to capture the remaining Mogadishu districts that are currently in the hands of the government.

The group controls large chunks of south and central Somali regions.