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| Africa Horn |
| Thirty die in escalating fighting in Mogadishu |
| 2010-10-05 |
| (Xinhua) -- At least 30 people including 24 combatants were killed and almost 50 others were maimed on Monday in third day of the consecutive fighting between beturbanned fascisti and African Union (AU) peacekeeping troops backing Somali government, medics and local media reports said. The AU troops based in Mogadishu engaged Islamist fighters around key areas in the beturbanned goon controlled south of the city where the AU peacekeepers on Sunday set up a new base in the fiercely contested former military hospital building. Most of the casualties in the latest clashes over control of the area around the main route connecting bases of AU troops were combatants from both warring sides who suffered almost 24 dead among 30 fatalities while 40 of the 50 maimed were fighters and government forces, local Shabelle radio reported. Medics who confirmed the figures also said that the affected civilians were caught in the crossfire as stray shells and bullets hit a number of residential areas in both beturbanned goon and government run parts of the capital, Mogadishu. Fire broke out in a store in the main Bakara market after it was hit by a shell and traders at the open-air market struggled to put out the inferno that destroyed commercial goods as well as the building of the store. Both warring sides claimed victories in the latest flare-up of fighting over control of key strategic positions in divided Mogadishu which is partly controlled by Islamists groups and Somali government forces backed by almost 6,000 AU peacekeeping troops. Somali government and AU peacekeeping troops vowed to continue their push deep into Islamist controlled part of the restive Somali capital, Mogadishu while Islamist leaders reiterated their resolve to resist the AU backed government offensive. Islamist groups opposed to the hapless Somali government and the presence of AU troops in Mogadishu often launch almost daily attacks on positions of AU and government forces. |
| Posted by:Fred |