18 dead in Somalia violence

MOGADISHU - At least 18 people were killed and 25 wounded after fighting erupted between Islamist fighters and Somali government forces in Mogadishu Friday, officials said.

The clashes broke out in the southwestern district of Dharkinley after Islamist fighters attacked soldiers’ positions in an area which is part of the Somali government-controlled side of the capital, Xinhua reported.

The officials said that the dead and the injured include civilians as well as combatants from both sides.

The southwestern district has been largely peaceful as it located in the far western part of the capital.

Fighting between Islamist forces and Somali soldiers has been continuing in Mogadishu for almost three years with the government reduced to a few blocks of the city while the Islamist groups run a major part of the city as well as the south and centre of the country.