Saturday, May 14, 2011
An internally displaced boy looks at skeleton remains of hundreds of people discovered at a mass grave on the outskirts of Mogadishu, April 10, 2011.
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At least 27 people have been killed after clashes broke out between al-Shabab fighters and the transitional government troops in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.Clashes continued for the second consecutive day in Mogadishu's northern district of Hodan on Friday, as al-Shabab fighters battled for control over the UN-backed government bases in the neighborhood, a Press TV correspondent reported on Saturday.
According to witnesses, at least 23 al-Shabab members and four civilians were killed in the attack. Scores of others were also injured in the violence.
No comments related to Friday's confrontation were available from the government, African Union peacekeepers in Somalia or al-Shabab.
The latest incident comes hours after a wobbly calm returned to Mogadishu following a fierce fight that left over 14 people dead, amongst them civilians.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Somali government has struggled for years to restore security but efforts have not yet yielded any result.
Nearly a million people have died following years of fighting between rival warlords and also due to the country's inability to deal with famine and disease.
There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people in Somalia. More than 300,000 IDP have been sheltered in Mogadishu alone.
Most of the displaced live in squalid conditions at makeshift camps in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Source: Press Tv