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Two days of fighting kills 31in Mogadishu
[Al Arabiya Latest] Fierce fighting between Somali government forces and Islamist rebels over two days has left 31 people dead in the capital Mogadishu, a medical source said Friday."The fighting was the worst in recent months with heavy civilian casualties, our medical teams collected 31 civilian bodies while 93 others were injured," Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, told AFP. "Most of the victims died as heavy artillery hit their houses," he added. Government troops backed by African Union peacekeepers on Thursday launched an offensive to recapture positions taken by the hardline Islamist rebels in clashes earlier this week. Twenty-six civilians were killed during Thursday's fighting and five others on Friday in sporadic fire exchanges, Muse said. Both the government and the militants claimed victory and said there were casualties on both sides, the number of which were not confirmed. "The enemy of Allah lost in the battle they organized. We destroyed one of their tanks and killed the five people on board," claimed Sheikh Muktar Robow, a top official of the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militia. Government security official Colonel Mohamed Sugule said: "We have pushed the insurgents back to their positions and our forces are now controlling most parts of Abdulaziz and Shibis districts. We killed many of their fighters." Posted by: Fred 2010-07-03 |
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