MOGADISHU (AFP) — At least eight people — an equal number of policemen and civilians — were killed and nine others wounded Wednesday in clashes in the volatile Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses said.

A day after a battle left six dead in a northern neighbourhood, fresh fighting erupted in the southern district of Hodan when government forces attacked positions controlled by Islamist insurgents.

“There was intense fighting when the security forces engaged those trouble-makers this morning. Of course, there were casualties,” a Somali police commander told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Police officer Mohammed Said and three of his colleagues were among the casualties, relatives said.

“He was killed with three others near Hodan police station. He will be buried now,” Mohamed Ali, a family member, said.

Witnesses also said four civilians in a nearby neighbourhood had died in mortar fire.

“I saw the dead bodies of four civilians who were killed by a mortar shell near Holwadag district,” local resident Hasan Yusuf said.

Nur Adan Ali, another eyewitness, gave the same death toll and added that nine other civilians were also wounded in the same incident.

Since insurgent groups launched a major offensive against the administration of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on May 7, intense fighting has killed more than 250 people, civilians and combatants.

More than 122,000 people have also been displaced, according to the United Nations.

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