20 dead in Mogadishu fighting

MOGADISHU/NAIROBI - Heavy fighting between government troops and radical Islamist rebels have left at least 20 dead and dozens injured in fighting since Friday night in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reported Saturday.

Troops loyal to the central government came under mortar fire in the south of Mogadishu, reported the broadcaster. Witnesses said most of the dead were troops, but at least five civilians also died in the fighting.

Fighting has grown more intense in Mogadishu and southern Somalia in recent weeks. The militants hope to overthrow the Western-backed government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and install a radical Islamist government.

Those militant groups, headed by the al-Shabaab militia, control large swaths of Somalia, which has not had a strong central government since 1991.