Somalia's al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels attacked the presidential palace in Mogadishu overnight, sparking a battle that left at least 14 civilians dead, officials and witnesses said yesterday.
The Islamist insurgents fired salvos of mortar rounds and closed in on the presidential area even as the world was pledging renewed support to Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at a conference in Turkey.
Sporadic gunfire could be heard at midday yesterday after African Union troops stopped the insurgents in their tracks and defended the shriveled seaside perimeter housing Sharif's embattled government.
“The number of civilians killed during the clashes overnight has reached 11 and it could be higher, because the violent militants using mortars attacked several other positions in southern Mogadishu,” said Mohamed Ali Idle, a Somali government security official.
Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu's ambulance services, said at least three other civilians were killed in an exchange of mortar fire in the southern neighborhoods of Holwadag and Black Sea, bringing the death toll to 14 civilians. The victims included five members of the same family who were killed when a mortar shell smashed into their home, several witnesses said.
“The fighting was very heavy here in Bondhere and Shibis. Many people died and I saw five family members who were killed when a mortar round struck their house. Several others were also injured,” said Abdirahman Ise, a resident.
“I'm also hearing that several other civilians were killed in the crossfire in the neighborhood. Unfortunately the fighting continued and there was no transport to collect the wounded overnight,” he said.
The Shebab offensive began when rebel units moved down from their bastions towards Kilometer Zero, a strategic crossroads leading toward the port and the presidential compound, witnesses and officials said.
Major Ba-Hoku Barigye, a spokesman for the African Union mission in Somalia, said the Shebab's progress required immediate action.
“People need to understand what our mandate is, we are here to protect the transitional federal institutions of Somalia and we also have red lines. If our forces are endangered, they have the right to protect themselves,” he said.
This year alone hundreds of civilians have died in the crossfire as a result of both insurgent attacks and retaliatory fire by African Union or government forces.
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