Thursday, 22 Mar 2007 00:23
Heavy fighting in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu, has killed 15 people and injured scores of others.
Angry mobs of civilians, which the government says are loyal to the ousted Union of Islamic Courts political group, attacked soldiers in the city and kicked and dragged their bodies through the streets, reports suggest.
The latest bouts of violence come amid great political unrest in the African capital after the former Islamist rulers of the country were driven out in favour of a more central transitional government.
African Union (AU) forces have been called in to try to stem the street fighting, which onlookers say is the worst since the power-shift three months ago.
Soldiers from neighbouring Ethiopia are also present in Mogadishu, which itself has caused great unrest among local residents, although they are midway through a forced withdrawal to hand over power to the AU.
The US envoy in Nairobi Michael Ranneberger described the violent scenes as "horrendous".
"We are unhappy about the violence but this was something we expected because extremists elements are re-grouping in Mogadishu to sabotage the interim government," he added.
According to UN estimates, around 40,000 refugees have fled Mogadishu since February as clashes in the city have become more frequent and more heated.
Government strongholds appear to be the subject of specific targeting by insurgents ahead of a planned meeting in the Somalia capital next month to try to reach a compromise or even a ceasefire.