Friday, April 20, 2007
Ethiopian forces fired mortar shells from the presidential palace in southern Mogadishu at insurgents in the north of the city, who fired back, an AFP correspondent said.
"The fighting has resumed, we can hear machine-gun fire. The Ethiopians are firing mortar shells," said Fahad Gutale, a resident of Ex-Control area in northern Mogadishu.
"Artillery shells are landing everywhere."
There were no immediate reports of casualties as the area remained inaccessible.
On Thursday, fighting claimed the lives of at least nine civilians and wounded several others after mortar shells landed at a bus station in southern Mogadishu.
Ethiopian forces also blocked a key road after a suspected suicide bomber attacked their base south of the capital late Thursday, trapping fleeing civilians.
Four days of fighting that broke out late last month was the worst violence in Mogadishu for 15 years and efforts to agree a lasting ceasefire have been dogged by clashes.
Elders from Mogadishu's dominant Hawiye clan have accused the Ethiopians of refusing to withdraw from the frontline, attacking the insurgents and shattering a fragile ceasefire.
Elders have said at least 1,000 people have died and more than 4,000 have been wounded in the fighting. The UN refugee agency said more than 200,000 have fled Mogadishu in the past two months.
The UN humanitarian office said government forces were choking relief supplies, UN aircraft were being shot at, corpses were lying in the streets of the capital, while a cholera or diarrhoea epidemic was taking hold and new flooding was likely soon.
"We are extremely anxious to reach the displaced population especially since most of them are women and children under the age of 14. These are the most vulnerable people in any community," said Christian Balslev-Olesen, the UNICEF Somalia representative, said in a statement.
"And so we reiterate our call to all parties involved in the conflict to do everything within their power to allow us to reach those who need our assistance the most," he added.
Source: AFP, April 20, 2007