Nine killed as battle rages in Somali capital

MOGADISHU, Tuesday

At least nine civilians were killed and 53 wounded when mortar fire hit a camp for displaced people in Mogadishu during fighting between Islamists and government forces, sources said.

The clashes erupted late on Monday when Islamist fighters attacked government positions to the south of the capital, sparking a heavy exchange of artillery fire between the insurgents and government troops backed by African Union forces.

“Our teams picked up nine civilians killed in the fighting and 53 wounded,” Ali Muse Mohamud, the head of the Mogadishu ambulance service, told AFP.