13 killed in Somalia fighting as al-Shabab spokesman declares ‘massive war’ against invaders
By APMonday, August 23, 2010
13 die in Somali fighting; militia declares ‘war’
MOGADISHU, Somalia — An emergency official in Somalia says a new outbreak of fighting between Islamist militants and government forces has killed 13 people as a spokesman for Somalia’s most powerful militia declares a “massive” war.
Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the al-Shabab militia, said Monday that militants were starting a new war against invaders, by which he appeared to mean the 6,000 African Union troops deployed in Mogadishu.
Fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, broke out soon after Rage held a news conference. Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service, said 13 people were killed and 50 injured.
Militants and government and African Union troops exchanged mortars and tank fire. The 13 people were killed in one of Mogadishu’s main markets.
Somalia hasn’t had a central government since 1991.
