27/09/08 (B467) Press TV / De violents combats se poursuivaient à Mogadiscio, ce vendredi, entre les forces gouvernementales et les islamistes de l’UIC : 13 soldats gouvernementaux et 8 civils ont été tués.. // 13 soldiers, 8 civilians killed in Somalia

Heavy fighting continues between Somali government soldiers and UIC fighters as thirteen soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.

The Union of Islamic Court (UIC) fighters attacked Somali government soldiers in Florenza Street in the Howlwadaag district in Mogadishu and killed 13 government soldiers, sources close to the soldiers told the Press TV correspondent.

According to the sources, indiscriminate shelling by government soldiers of residential areas has killed eight civilians in south Mogadishu’s Howlwadaag and Wardhigley districts, our correspondent added.

Civilians are facing the brunt of fighting between the two feuding sides.

Civilians say Somali government troops, Ethiopian soldiers and Ugandan peacekeepers are targeting them rather than the anti-government forces, our correspondent reported.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since president Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

US-backed Ethiopian troops entered the country in 2006 to support the transitional government in Mogadishu.

The conflict in Somalia has turned the country into the most unstable in the world. Thousands of civilians have been killed and displaced because of the ongoing violence in the war-torn country.