By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least 15, mostly civilians have been killed and over 30 others injured in heavy clashes between Somali militants and government forces backed by African Union troops in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The clashes started on late Wednesday in the capital’s KM4 and Dabka intersections and Shaqalaha road, where fighters loyal to Somalia’s Hizbul Islam carried out surprise attacks on government positions, leading to heavy gun battle.

Insurgents fired mortars at government troops, prompting a heavier response of shells that killed civilians in several suburbs of Mogadishu and made residents cower indoors.

Mohammed Osman Arus, Hizbul Islam spokesman confirmed that his forces carried out attacks on government and AU troops, killing several soldiers. “We carried out attacks on their positions. I saw dead bodies of three AU soldiers with my on eyes,” he claimed. AU troops’ spokesman Barigye Bahoku, however, refuted those claims, when reached for comments.

It is believed that the Islamist insurgent attacks targeted the first parliament session held in the capital in months. The session was held in the mayor’s office for security reasons and President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed had been due to attend it, officials said.

Retaliatory shelling rained down on Mogadishu’s Bakara and Holwadag neighborhoods, causing several casualties, residents said. Bakara, which is notorious for its open-air weapons bazaar, has long been viewed by the government and the African Union force AMISOM as a stronghold of hardline Islamist al Shabaab insurgents who are trying to overthrow the country’s transitional administration.

Washington accuses the rebel group of being al Qaeda’s proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state. Western security agencies say that Somalia has become a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists, who are using it to plot attacks across the region and beyond.

Fighting in Somalia has killed 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and driven another 1.5 million from their homes, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies.

For more information, please see:

Garowe Online – Mogadishu Clashes Kill 15, Injures 30 – 25 December 2009

Shabelle Media Network  – Heavy Shelling Kills Three, Injures 24 Others in Mogadishu – 20 December 2009

Reuters – Mortar shell attacks kills at least 14 in Somalia – 20 December 2009

AFP – Eight killed in mortar attack on MPs in Mogadishu – 20 December 2009