MOGADISHU — Somali insurgents displayed the bodies of what they said were African Union troops Friday following a day of fierce clashes with government troops for control of Mogadishu.

Both the Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab and the embattled Western-backed government claimed victory in fighting that left at least 21 civilians and an unknown number of combatants dead.

The capital was more calm after the government offensive launched Thursday to recapture strategic neighbourhoods of Mogadishu that was turned into a battlefield and virtually emptied of its population.

Independent access to the contested areas was made difficult by the military standoff but residents reached by phone said Shebab fighters paraded bodies of soldiers, including from an attack on an armoured vehicle belonging to the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

“I saw the dead body of a soldier but I could not identify him. There was also another one which they said was the charred body of from the destroyed troop carrier,” witness Faisal Omar told AFP.

The main spokesman for the Shebab, whose leaders claim allegiance to Osama bin Laden, said the government offensive had been repelled.

“The enemy tried to advance into the areas we control but following the lesson they were taught by our mujahideen (holy warriors), they will never try again,” said Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage, the main spokesman.

“Today, we can all see the casualties we inflicted on them. We destroyed an armoured vehicle, killing all on board. We also seized a bulldozer belonging to AMISOM,” Rage told reporters.

African Union troops back government forces in the fight against the insurgents.

African Union military officials in Mogadishu could not be reached for comment but several witnesses confirmed the incidents and the Shebab posted pictures on a website affiliated to their movement.

“I was trapped inside my house yesterday during the fighting and I saw an armoured vehicle with an AU marking burning outside. There was also a bulldozer trapped in a ditch,” said local resident Mohamed Hassan.

The bulldozer was believed to be used by AMISOM troops to fill trenches dug by the Shebab to protect their positions.

A government security official denied their offensive had been thwarted.

“Our forces are holding several neighbourhoods in northern Mogadishu where they fought the rebels. The situation is calm today,” Ali Nur said.

On May 21-22, as President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was in Turkey mustering new support for his embattled transitional federal government (TFG), the Shebab and its Hezb al-Islam allies launched a devastating attack on Mogadishu.

They seized large swathes of the northern Shibis and Bondhere neighbourhoods, moving them within barely more than a stone’s throw of the shrivelling perimetre housing the presidency and other key institutions.

It also gave them a strategic vantage point over Mogadishu port and the ability to disrupt supplies to the government and AMISOM.

The AU mission said at the time that the insurgents had crossed “a red line” and that the rebel advance warranted tough reprisals.

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AFP

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