20 Killed in Somalia Shelling

20 Killed in Somalia Shelling
By VOA News 22 October 2009

Somalis stand by man injured during heavy fighting between Islamic insurgents and Somali government forces backed by African Union soldiers in Mogadishu, 22 Oct 2009

Medical workers and witnesses say at least 20 people, including many civilians, are dead in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, after one of the worst battles between Islamist militants and government forces in weeks.

Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance services, said at least 58 other people were wounded.

Witnesses say the shelling began Thursday at the international airport as President Sharif Shekh Ahmed was heading to Uganda for an African Union meeting on refugees and internally displaced people.

The witnesses say insurgents shot mortars at the airport and airplane and African Union peacekeepers returned fire.

The president was not hurt in the attack.

They say the busy Bakara market was also struck hard by mortar shells. Witnesses saw the dead bodies of at least six civilians there.

Somalia has not had a stable central government since 1991.

Islamist militant group Al-Shabab and its allies control much of southern Somalia after a nearly three-year war against the Western-backed Somali government.

 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.