15 die as fighting escalates in Mogadishu

Up to 15 people, most of them combatants, were killed and almost 70 others mainly civilians were wounded on Wednesday in a fierce fighting between Islamist insurgents and Somali government forces, witnesses and health officials said. The flare-up also displaced hundreds of people. Since early this week, the two sides have been battling over the control of north Mogadishu districts of Yaqshid and Karan, which have changed hands several times. Witnesses said five Somali government soldiers and four insurgent fighters died in the latest fighting over Yaqshid district, which they said was last seized by Somali government forces after briefly falling in rebel hands. "The dead also included six civilians who were caught in the gunfight around the (Yaqshid district) police station," Mohamoud Ali, an eyewitness who lives near the police station, told Xinhua. ..more..http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6671457.html