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| Africa Horn |
| Somali clashes leave 15 civilians dead |
| 2010-11-30 |
| [Iran Press TV] At least 15 have been killed and 20 others injured in fighting between African Union (AU) troops and local al-Shaboobs in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Heavy festivities erupted between the two sides near Mogadishu's international airport early Monday morning, a Press TV correspondent reported. Hundreds of people have reportedly decamped the area due to the exchange of fire between AU troops and al-Shaboobs. The fresh festivities came two days after 18 civilians bit the dust and more than 30 others sustained injuries in another battle between the two sides. Al-Shabaab accuses African Union troops -- who are backing Somalia's transitional government -- of invading the country. The fighters say they will continue their battles until the AU forces withdraw from Somalia. The Somali government controls only a few areas around the presidential palace. For months, Mogadishu has been the scene of daily battles between government forces and local fighters -- both of whom are trying to take control of the capital. The peacekeepers, however, claim that they have made advances in the Somali capital over the past months. Somalia has lacked a functioning government since 1991 when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Over the past two decades, up to a million people have bit the dust in the fighting between rival factions and also due to famine and disease. There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people in Somalia. Mogadishu, alone, contains over 300,000 of this uprooted population. Most of the displaced live in squalid conditions in makeshift camps in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society High Commissioner for Refugees. |
| Posted by:Fred |