The Hindu : International : Renewed fighting in Mogadishu

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Friday, May 26, 2006

International

International

Renewed fighting in Mogadishu

Mogadishu (Somalia): At least 38 persons were killed on Thursday in renewed fighting in the Somali capital, medical workers and a militia commander said.

According to reports collected from the Somali capital's main hospitals, at least 30 persons were killed when rival militias intensified fighting in Mogadishu after a day's lull.

The latest fighting comes despite a May 14 cease-fire between Islamist militias and a rival alliance of secular warlords.

Witnesses say it has spread from northern Mogadishu, which had been the scene of fierce battles in recent weeks, to the southern and eastern parts of the capital.

The rival militiamen renewed fighting in northern Mogadishu for a few hours during which at least six persons were killed and another six seriously injured, witnesses and medical workers said.

Caught in crossfire

More than 140 persons — most noncombatants caught in the crossfire — were killed in eight days of fighting in Mogadishu earlier this month.

Witnesses said the militiamen had taken over a key hotel in the capital on Thursday which is owned by a member of the rival Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism. — AP

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