Sunday, August 29, 2010
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A night of clashes in south Mogadishu killed at least 11 civilians as Islamist insurgents continued whittling away the few areas controlled by government forces, sources said Saturday. Fighting erupted late Friday and continued overnight around Hodan and Holwadag districts where witnesses reported Somali government forces and their allies lost key positions. The al-Shabab militants are trying to reach Maka Al-Mukarama road, the only direct supply route linking the presidential palace and the airport. The latest deaths brings the number of civilians killed since the fighting erupted Monday to more than 80. Government forces and their African peacekeeper allies -- about 6,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops -- are the last barrier between the hard-line al-Shabab and the embattled government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
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