MOGADISHU, Somalia, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Violence shook Mogadishu, Somalia, on several fronts Monday as armed factions battled and suicide bombers struck a police station.
A bomb-laden car with four people inside hit a police station in the Hamar Jajab district, killing more than 10 people, including high-ranking officers, police spokesman Abdullahi Hassan Barise told the Shabelle Media Network.
Battles between the transitional government's army, backed by African Union peacekeepers, and the al-Shabaab militia went into a third day.
Residents reported artillery barrages and gunfire through Sunday night. About 50 people have been killed in recent days.
Hundreds of protesters gathered near the presidential palace, demanding the release of former Mayor Mohammed Omar Habeb.
Demonstrators threw stones at the building and security forces retaliated with live ammunition, witnesses said.
