An emergency official in Somalia says 19 people have been killed and 68 injured in fighting in Mogadishu.
Ambulance service director Ali Muse said on Thursday that shelling between militants and pro—government troops was hitting the city hard and that the numbers could rise further.
The fighting began when militants attacked neighbourhoods in northern Mogadishu with rocket—propelled grenades and machine guns.
Government soldiers and AU peacekeepers, meanwhile, were trying to push back insurgents from a strategic road often used by government officials.
Somalia hasn’t had a functioning government in almost two decades. Islamist insurgents are trying to overthrow the weak, U.N.—backed government in Mogadishu.
