Islamist rebels battled African Union (AU) peacekeepers and Somali police for a second day today, taking the death toll in the worst fighting for weeks to at least 69, witnesses and a rights group said.
"Fighting has killed 48 civilians and injured 90 in the last 30 hours," said Ali Yasin Gedi, vice-chairman of the local Elman Peace and Human Rights group.
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 violence flared just days after new President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed returned to Mogadishu to set up his new unity government, the 15th attempt to bring peace to the failed Horn of Africa state since 1991.
Hardline Islamist group al Shabaab and some other militias are fighting Ahmed's government and the 3,500-strong AU peacekeeping force based in the capital.
As well as fighting in Mogadishu, al Shabaab also took over the southcentral town of Hudur from pro-government militias after a short battle on Wednesday, residents said.
Reuters