By Guled Mohamed
Attackers also bombed the port area and a gunman opened fire in a mosque in the city where the bloodshed has forced hundreds of residents to flee as the interim government struggles to impose security after defeating Islamists in a December war.
It was not clear who carried out the attacks, but the government blames them on remnants of Islamist forces, some of whom have vowed to wage holy war since being ousted from the capital and much of the south they had controlled since June.
"I was driving along the Tarbuunka Square when suddenly a mortar bomb landed on the other side of the road in a residential area," said resident Abdi Abdille.
Tarbuunka Square in the east of the city is where the Islamists regularly held rallies during their six-month rule.
That ended in late December when Ethiopian forces backed government troops in a lightning assault that routed the religious movement.
A second resident, Mukhtar Abdi, said the bomb landed near a house and slightly wounded a girl. The house was destroyed and shrapnel also damaged walls of neighbouring homes.
A port worker who gave his name as Mohamed said three mortar bombs also hit the port, which has been targeted before because of the presence of government and Ethiopian troops.
Another witness said another mortar round also hit a refugee camp in the Tarbuunka area, wounding five people. One of the wounded died from his injuries, one local said.
One person, who declined to be named, said he heard gunshots inside a mosque in the city centre.
"I saw a old man come out of the mosque with bloodied leg and I understand another old man was shot in the chest. There is blood everywhere in the mosque," the resident said.
"ANOTHER BAGHDAD"
As Mogadishu slides further into chaos, Uganda peacekeepers are to deploy in the city as part of a planned 8,000-strong African Union mission (AU) to restore stability.
The troops could go in as early as this weekend and would secure the capital while the AU waits for other African troops to arrive in other Somali cities, the Ugandan army says.
Although some Somalis welcome their arrival others feel the 1,500-strong force will not achieve much in a nation in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
"We and the Ugandans differ in culture and religion," said one Mogadishu resident who gave his name as Ali.
"If the Ethiopians, who are our neighbours and know us well, failed to pacify this city, do you think some Africans from east Africa with whom we share nothing in common will do anything?"
Some fear the violence could escalate.
"If those troops are brought, Somalia will become another Baghdad," said one lawmaker who declined to be named for fear of reprisals. "They will be no positive change at all but only destruction and death."
Source: Reuters, Feb 15, 2007