Fighting erupted in several areas in the south and north of the city, as African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
-backed government troops set up bases in former a
l-Shabaab... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban. The organization's current leader is Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad, also known as Ibrahim
al-Afghani. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, asaid Kenyan al-Qaeda member, is considered the group's military leader...
strongholds.
"We are very worried, and many people have already decamped to stay away from the firing," said Abdulahi Duale, a resident from the famine-stricken capital's northern Suqaholaha district.
"We could hear shooting close to our neighbourhood," he added.
The al-Qaeda-affiliated rebels who had controlled around half of Mogadishu abandoned their positions in a surprise withdrawal on Saturday but some units remained active on the outskirts of the capital.
Another resident, Huda Ali said: "We could hear the heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
on Sunday night. We are planning to flee because there are stray bullets reaching close to us now."
Government officials celebrated the hardline rebel pullout, but the al-Shabaab say it is merely "a change of military tactics."
"It was the second day of our changed tactics, and the mujahedeen fighters carried out at least five attacks," al-Shabaab front man Abdulaziz Abu Musab told news hounds.
"We have inflicted heavy losses on the enemy... where the Christian invading forces tried to expand," he added.
Government forces dismissed the rebel claims, reporting only sporadic shooting as soldiers moved cautiously into former al-Shabaab-held areas.
Internal wrangles
"Our forces are making a gradual advancement into areas of the city where the Islamist snuffies have left," said Abdikarin Dhegobadan, a senior government officer.
Yusuf Mohamed Siad Indhoade, the leader of a pro-government militia, said the al-Shabaab were forced to withdraw from Mogadishu because of internal wrangles.
The city was quieter on Monday morning after fighting during the night, but residents continued to move out, fearing further conflict.