Medical staff attend to a man wounded in a crossfire at the Madina hospital in Somalia's capital Mogadishu February 24, 2009. Photo/REUTERSSomalia Fighting Kills at Least 15 -- New York Times
MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least 15 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded in Somalia’s capital on Tuesday, in multisided fighting between pro-government forces, African Union peacekeepers and Islamist insurgents, witnesses said.
The fighting, the heaviest of its kind since Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia last month, started around 10 a.m., when armed insurgents attacked government bases. Both sides then opened up with mortars and machine guns and several stray mortar bombs slammed into nearby homes.
Witnesses described a scene of panic and pools of blood when a mortar struck a crowded area that civilians were using as a safe haven in the southern part of the city. “I saw six dead bodies and 15 wounded,” said Hussein Abdulkadir, a 25-year-old chemist. “I was really shocked.”
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More News On Somalia's Civil War
Violent clashes in Mogadishu kill 23 -- AFP
20 killed in Somali mortar attack -- The Nation (Kenya)
Official: 18 killed in fighting in Somali capital -- Jerusalem Post
Heavy clashes kill 15 in Somalia -- CNN
Many dead in Mogadishu fighting -- Al Jazeera
Africa Union to re-assess forces in Mogadishu -- Angola Press
Somalia: Does Nation Face Doomsday Or Opportunity for Peace? -- All Africa