Fighting in the Somali capital: 2 killed

Rival militia resumed fighting in the Somali capital Monday, killing at least two people and wounding several others when they shelled the main market in Mogadishu, witnesses said.

Photo: Fighting in the Somali capital: 2 killed

Fighting in the Somali capital: 2 killed

The battle began two days after fighting between militias loyal to Islamic courts and those under the command of powerful warlords and businessmen killed at least 10 people, wounded more than 70 others and forced hundreds to flee their homes.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the government and divided the country into rival, clan-based fiefdoms.

Islamists are increasingly projecting themselves as an alternative to the numerous armed groups running a patchwork of clan-based fiefdoms in Somalia.

Former warlords who now hold Cabinet positions have described the Islamists as "terrorists," accusing them of killing moderate intellectuals, Muslim scholars and former military officials.

"They set up Islamic courts and they want to terrorize our people under the cover of making peace," Minister for National Security Mohamed Qanyare Afrah said Sunday, reports the AP.

I.L.