By Ibrahim Mohamed and Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Mortar attacks in Somalia's capital killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more on Friday, in the latest battle pitting Islamist insurgents against government and peacekeeping troops, witnesses said.
Some 3,000 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are guarding key
sites in Mogadishu as part of a planned 8,000 strong African Union (AU)
mission known as AMISOM.
Residents in Mogadishu said insurgents fired artillery rounds at a Ugandan military base in the city's K4 area from nearby alleys, prompting an exchange of mortar and machinegun fire which lasted for hours.
"They attacked our defence position at K4 and we chased them...There are no casualties from our side," an AMISOM spokesman told Reuters.
The peacekeepers have been targeted in a string of bombings and
ambushes since the Islamists launched their rebellion early last year.
The fighting has killed nearly 10,000 civilians, and eight AU soldiers -- seven Ugandans and one Burundian. More than a million people have been displaced, aid groups say.
Hussein Aden, a grocer at the main Bakara market, said he saw eight mutilated bodies after three mortars detonated in the market.
"The first one landed in front of a shop killing four people and wounding four others who were busy buying vegetables," he said.
He said the second mortar blew up four children when it dropped in front of their house, while the third one went into the ground causing no harm.
Hospital sources said six out of at least 35 civilians who were injured in Thursday's attacks died later.
Ethiopian soldiers are in Somalia supporting its U.N.-backed interim government which has struggled to impose control in the face of the Iraq-style insurgency by Islamist rebels.
On Thursday Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the time for
his forces to leave Somalia was fast approaching, but the soldiers
would stay until the AU peacekeeping force is fully deployed.
SOURCE: Reuters, Friday, October 17, 2008