At least one Somali died Friday as heavy fighting broke out in the capital Mogadishu between insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed government forces, police and witnesses said.
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter in Mogadishu described the clashes as among the most intense since April, when the interim government wrested final control of the city from an Islamist militia that briefly controlled large parts of the country.
The latest bout of fighting erupted in southern Mogadishu at around midnight (9pm GMT) and lasted for an hour and a half, witnesses said, adding that no further clashes were reported on Friday morning.
The worst fighting took place around the Holwadag police station, which insurgents attacked with machine guns and rocket launchers.
”We suffered no casualties but a civilian in a nearby house was killed,” policeman Mohammed Farah told AFP.
Witnesses said insurgents also launched a mortar and rocket attack against a Somali security position near a milk factory, while fighting was also reported near an Ethiopian army post in the Ali Kamin district.
Since being defeated by the Ethiopian army and their Somali allies, insurgents have carried out almost daily hit-and-run attacks but sustained direct clashes have been rare.
The latest violence brings to at least eight the number of people killed in Mogadishu violence over the past 48 hours.
Somalia, which is home to about 10-million people, has been plagued by instability that has defied more than a dozen peace initiatives since the 1991 overthrow of former dictator Siad Barre.
More than 1,000 clan representatives from all over the fractious Horn of Africa country have been gathered in the restive capital since July 15 for a reconciliation conference sponsored by the interim government.
The meeting is being boycotted by the government’s main Islamist foes, who are planning their own meeting in the Eritrean capital Asmara next month. – Sapa-AFP