Shelling rocks Mogadishu despite UN call for peace

Artillery shells and mortars rained down on Somalia’s capital Mogadishu again today, despite a plea by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to end the violence that has left nearly 250 people dead.

Islamic insurgents clashed with allied Ethiopian and Somali government forces, using mortars and rocket propelled grenades against tanks and artillery positions in the north of the battle-scarred coastal city.

Most of the fighting was around front-line positions and weary Mogadishu residents said it was not as fierce as in previous days.

However, since February more than 320,000 Somalis have fled the bloodstained capital.

The fighting came hours after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the warring sides to “immediately cease all hostilities and to facilitate access for the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance,” spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement in New York.

At least five people were wounded in today’s clashes, said doctors at Mogadishu’s largest medical centre, the Media Hospital, with deaths likely.