At Least 5 Somali Civilians Killed in Mortar Shelling

Heavy mortar shelling in Mogadishu has killed at least 5 people and injured two others, medical officials said on March 26.

The shelling between government troops backed by African Union peacekeepers and insurgents began when Islamic insurgents fired mortars towards the presidential house. The government responded with heavier shelling on insurgent strongholds in Mogadishu's main market and residential areas.

"We have collected five dead bodies and two injured in and around Bakaara market," Ali Muse, an ambulance service coordinator, told Tiziano.

According to aid agencies, an estimated 1.5 million Somalis are internally displaced and living in makeshift camps, while hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country after the Al-Shabaab militant group stopped World Food Program humanitarian operations.

Somalia has been without a central government since 1991 after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted from power by clan militias who then turned on each other.

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