Death toll 35 in latest Somalia fighting

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A second day of fighting between Islamic militants and Somali government troops backed by African Union peacekeepers shook Mogadishu Wednesday, witnesses said.

At least 35 civilians had been killed and about 130 others injured since fighting broke out in the Somali capital Tuesday, Radio Garowe reported.

"We will return to the place we fled (before) because we did not expect more war," said Muhubo Omar, a mother of six children.

Bakara Market, Somalia's largest marketplace, remained closed for a second day as roads leading to it were inaccessible due to the violence.

The fresh fighting broke out in Mogadishu's Hodan district, observers said. The clashes were triggered when rebel Muslims attacked government forces in the Tribunka area in south Mogadishu, where government soldiers are based.

The clashes have brought calls from traditional elders, politicians and scholars for the warring sides to stop the fighting to protect the civilians who are dying in the gun battles, Shabelle Media Network reported.

Sheik Abdi Umal, a Somali Kenyan cleric in Mogadishu for reconciliation talks, condemned the fighting as "without cause."

But Sheik Aweys, former legislative head of the Islamic Courts Union, told al-Jazeera TV from his base in Eritrea the fighting will continue until peacekeeper troops leave Somalia.

"They are the enemy of the Somali people," he said.