Insurgents, AU troops fight in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Fighting between African Union troops and Islamic fighters resumed Monday in Mogadishu near a base for AU troops, witnesses said.

The violence began around the Jalle Siad building, considered a base for Burundian troops in the African Union's mission to Somalia, with an exchange of gunfire, Shabelle Media Network reported.

Witnesses said Islamic fighters and AU troops were using heavy weapons. Fighting had eased up at the base, then resumed on a busy street, witnesses said.

The number of casualties was unclear, Shabelle reported.

"(We) heard the sound of heavy weapons from each direction in the area where the clashes (are) going on some times," one witness told the media network. "The fighting (has) restarted now."