Officials say at least 13 people have been killed, among them civilians and a police officer, in fighting after insurgents launched mortars at a police compound in Mogadishu during the force’s 66th anniversary ceremony.
Somalis watch a fire at a fuel storage facility in southern Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. The fire was caused by electrical fault.
Ali Musa, the head of the Mogadishu ambulance service, says 12 civilians were killed and 15 others were wounded when police and African Union forces retaliated against insurgents on Sunday.
Musa says that most of the shelling by police forces hit near the Bakara market in the rebel-controlled district of Mogadishu.
Aden Ahmed, a police official, says one police officer was killed and three others were wounded in the mortar attack by insurgents.
Somalia’s capital sees near-daily bloodshed as an insurgent group tries to overthrow the fragile government.
