Mogadishu, July 13: Islamic insurgents fought their way toward Somalia’s presidential palace Sunday in fighting that killed dozens and wounded about 150, officials said.
African Union peacekeepers directly intervened for the first time to support government forces.
According to a report by a news agency, several bodies and two AU tanks were lying on the front line.
Government forces used rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns mounted on the back of trucks, which they fired horizontally through the streets.
“The fighting in Mogadishu has entered a new phase,” said Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the al-Shabab rebel group, which is believed to have ties to al-Qaida. Al-Shabab however, denies any ties.
“Now it’s between us and the AMISOM,” he said, referring to the AU peacekeeping force’s acronym.
“AMISOM was backing up the government directly, but we will keep
fighting.”
The city’s main Medina hospital was chaos, with bloodied nurses performing frantic triage and a tent set up outside to deal with the overflow of casualties.
Screaming relatives begged for help and water for the wounded.
Medina hospital official Duniya Ali Mohamed said most of the wounded were women and children and that hospital workers had not slept for the last 24 hours.
–Agencies