Somalia death toll hits 81 in worst fighting for weeks

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist rebels battled African Union (AU) peacekeepers and Somali police for a second day Wednesday, taking the death toll in the worst fighting for weeks to 81, witnesses and a rights group said.The local Elman Peace and Human Rights group said 48 civilians had been killed and 90 wounded since early Tuesday. Witnesses said at least 15 Islamist fighters and six policemen were also killed in exchanges of gunfire and mortar bombs that have rocked the coastal capital for two days.The latest violence flared just days after new President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed returned to the coastal city to form an inclusive unity government, the 15th attempt in 18 years to bring peace to the failed Horn of Africa state.In New York, the U.N. Security Council issued a unanimous statement to "condemn in the strongest terms the attacks on the African Union mission in Somalia" and urged all Somalis "to reject violence and extremism.".. more http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090225/wl_nm/us_somalia_conflict