Thirty-one killed in two days of Mogadishu fighting

MOGADISHU (AFP) – Fierce fighting between Somali government forces and Islamist rebels over two days has left 31 people dead in the capital Mogadishu, a medical source said Friday."The fighting was the worst in recent months with heavy civilian casualties, our medical teams collected 31 civilian bodies while 93 others were injured," Ali Muse, head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, told AFP.
"Most of the victims died as heavy artillery hit their houses," he added.Government troops backed by African Union peacekeepers on Thursday launched an offensive to recapture positions taken by the hardline Islamist rebels in clashes earlier this week.Twenty-six civilians were killed during Thursday's fighting and five others on Friday in sporadic fire exchanges, Muse said.Both the government and the militants claimed victory and said there were casualties on both sides, the number of which were not confirmed."The enemy of Allah lost in the battle they organised. We destroyed one of their tanks and killed the five