Saturday, May 23, 2009
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MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 23 (UPI) -- Somali government troops and Islamic militants battled in Mogadishu Friday, leaving at least 14 people dead, officials said.
The fighting, which included heavy shelling, also wounded 53 more people, Radio France Internationale reported.
Eight people were killed in a mortar attack on a bus. Six others died in other clashes.
Garowe Online reported the fatalities included Abdirisak Warsame Mohamed, a reporter for the independent station Radio Shabelle who was shot and killed in the crossfire.
Shabelle Media Network reported the rebels grabbed control of many government positions this month in week-long battles that killed 140 people and displaced nearly 30,000 civilians from their homes.
Meanwhile, authorities reported at least Somali children died in Mogadishu and its outskirts as a result of torrential rains this week, Shabelle said.
Source: UPI, May 23, 2009