Civilians flee Mogadishu as escalating clashes leave eleven dead

Hundreds of civilians flee their homes in the Somali capital Mogadishu Thursday after lull in overnight fierce fighting which killed almost eleven people and injured more than 30 others, residents and emergency services said.

The latest clashes broke out late Wednesday after Islamist fighters attacked positions of Africa Union (AU) in Mogadishu, igniting intense exchanges of artillery fire which hit residential areas north of the capital.

Health officials say that eleven people including government soldiers while more than 30 others were injured in the fighting which has reportedly spread into a number of northern districts in Mogadishu.

Hundreds of civilians have began leaving their homes to the outskirts of the coastal city after an early morning lull in the fighting which could restart at any time as opposing sides remain in their positions.

Residents who have remained in their homes until now fled the fighting with what they could carry of their belongings on buses, donkey-carts, hand-carts as well as on foot.

Mohamed Gure, a father of seven, says he could not take it anymore and decided to leave Mogadishu once and for all to safe his family. "We have been trying to weather the fighting by moving from one place in the city to another but now it seems no place is safe enough for our children. We have to leave," Gure tells Xinhua as he takes his family out of Mogadishu.

The latest upsurge of fighting comes as the UN said on Tuesday that almost 230 people were killed and 400 others were wounded while 23,000 civilians had to flee their homes in Mogadishu since the flare-up of violence began two weeks ago.

Islamist group of Al Shabaab announced late last month they plan to wage an all out offensive to "finish off" The Somali government forces and AU peacekeeping troops in Mogadishu.

The radical group, considered a terrorist entity by a number of world governments including the U.S., controls much of south and centre of Somalia and wants to establish an Islamic state in the war torn east African country.

Source: Xinhua