Somalia, October 22: At least 17 civilians have lost their lives and 58 others received injuries in fresh fire exchange between Somali rebels and African Union (AU) troops.
Violence erupted in the capital, Mogadishu, on Thursday after Somali guerrillas engaged international soldiers under an AU mandate to help fortify the central government.
Medical sources in the lawless Horn of Africa nation have reported fierce fighting and an exchange of ‘mortar and artillery fire’ in Mogadishu, which claimed civilian lives in the crossfire, AFP reported.
There has been no further information on the latest spate of violence in the war-ravaged Somalia hit by over 18 years of civil war.
Somalia’s main opposition militia, al-Shabaab, declared conflict against the government a few years ago, accusing it of advancing US agenda.
The poverty-stricken nation has sought international aid in order to help restore peace in a land where bloodshed has become the reality of daily life since the overthrow of the country’s last military rule under Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.
–Agencies