Notícias da Somália

Death toll climbs to 33 as fierce fighting rocks Somali capital

At least 15 people were killed and 23 wounded in fighting between gunmen loyal to warlords controlling Somalia's capital and Islamic court security militia, in what residents called the fiercest battles in five years.

This brings the death toll to 33 and dozens wounded, according to witnesses and medical sources, since the clashes erupted on Saturday.

The fighting pits gunmen backed by the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) -- a coalition of warlords -- against Islamic court militia along a road in southern Mogadishu's Daynile district, they said.

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Somalia, a nation of up to 10 million people, has been wracked by chronic unrest with warlords and rival militias fighting for control of unruly fiefdoms that sprung up after Barre was toppled in 1991.

Since then, the country has had no functioning central government and numerous efforts to create a viable new administration have floundered amid a chaotic and often bloody power struggle among local politicians and warlords.