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More Ethnic Clashes in Somalia

On Tuesday, at least two more people were killed during the fourth day of the heaviest fighting to take place in the Somali capital in four years. Supporters of some of Mogadishu?s militia leaders have clashed with an armed Islamist group, which claims to be trying to establish law and order. Opponents say the Islamic courts are terrorizing locals.

By Tuesday, clashes resulted in at least 17 deaths since they began last Saturday, most were attributed to civilians being struck by stray bullets. Accounts of the fighting are many and varied. One witness said two people died and 15 were wounded in a clash in southern Mogadishu?s district of Daynile.

Another witness said a woman was killed and two children hurt when a mortar exploded near a milk factory. Since the overthrow of former military leader Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, clashes between armed groups have been rampant in Somalia. This latest fighting pits the so-called "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism", against the militia of the Islamic courts.