By Dahee Nam
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least 20 people have been killed in heavy fighting between Somali Islamist insurgents and government forces in the capital city of Mogadishu.  Most of the dead were civilians, witnesses said.

Heavy battles broke out after Islamist insurgents launched a pre-dawn raid Friday against government forces and African Union (AU) peacekeepers in the southern part of the capital.  The clashes soon spread to neighboring districts.

“Hundreds of well-armed insurgents came to our district with minibuses and pick-up trucks and immediately they started firing towards the government troops and an AU base,” a local resident told the BBC.

Mortars from both sides slammed into the city’s main market as traders were setting up their stalls for the day, causing severe civilian casualty.

According to the city’s ambulance services, at least 20 dead and 40 wounded people were taken to the town’s various hospitals.  The toll was expected to increase as the fighting continued through the morning.

“Everyone is traumatized by the bombs because they’re hitting heavily populated parts of town,” local resident Ibrahim Moalim said.

Al-Shabab spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said the raid was to retaliate against the AU troops for rolling into rebel-controlled areas earlier this week.  The AU said the patrol was a routine military exercise, but the Islamist insurgents regarded it as provocative.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Nine Civilians Killed by Mortar Bombs in Mogadishu – 21 August 2009

AP – 24 Dead in Somalia Violence, Witnesses Say – 21 August 2009

BBC – Somali Insurgents in Deadly Raid – 21 August 2009

Reuters – Fighting Kills 22 in Somali Capital Mogadishu – 21 August 2009