Witnesses, medical staff say 21 people have been killed in clashes in Somalia’s capital

21 people killed in clashes in Somali capital

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Medical workers and witnesses say that fighting between the Somali government forces and Islamist insurgents has killed 21 people in the Somali capital.

Head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service Ali Muse says 14 people were killed in shelling in the north of the city. Witness Haji Dahir Igale says shelling killed a student near the airport. Resident Hussein Abdulahi says that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in a landmine explosion in the south of the city.

The weak U.N.-backed Somali government is battling an Islamist insurgency. The impoverished Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning government for nearly 20 years.