Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf escaped unharmed today when suspected Islamist insurgents hit his presidential compound in Mogadishu with mortar bombs for a second day, one of his aides said.
Witnesses said the shelling wounded at least five people. A presidential aide said Mr Yusuf was safe and the five mortars did not land anywhere near his private quarters.
Mr Yusuf's interim government and its Ethiopian military allies are battling gunmen loyal to an Islamist movement that ruled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for six months in 2006, before being ousted by the allied forces.
Residents in the coastal capital say the violence has worsened in recent weeks with increased insurgent attacks against military positions and police stations.