MOGADISHU, Somalia - July 28, 2011 - Heavy fighting broke out Thursday in the Somali capital Mogadishu after government forces backed by African Union (AU) troops launched an assault against a stronghold of the hardline Shebab insurgents, officials and witnesses said.
"There is heavy fighting this morning in several locations, it is too early to say about casualty numbers, but there are some civilians who were injured in the crossfire," said Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service.
Fighting erupted near the city's key Bakara market and Suqbacad areas, with both sides exchanging fire using heavy machine guns and artillery.
The clashes come just a day after the UN World Food Program began an airlift of emergency relief into the war-torn capital, to bring supplies for thousands at risk of starvation from an extreme drought in the Horn of Africa.
Witnesses said that AU troops and tanks crossed a road that has acted as a frontline between the two sides, and moved into the Suqbacad area.
"The fighting is very heavy and there are tanks belonging to the AU forces," said Muktar Ahmed, a resident of the Suqbacad neighborhood.
"The few people who still were in the area have now started to flee," he added.
