MOGADISHU, Somalia Sep 29 (Garowe Online) - At least 12 civilians were killed Tuesday in the Somali capital Mogadishu after artillery shells hit a crowded marketplace, Radio Garowe reports.

More than 30 people were wounded after the shells hit parts of Bakara Market, the largest marketplace in Somalia, witnesses said.

The shells hit the market's gold section, killing 7 people at a single location.

"Some of the shells hit the gold section. I saw seven dead bodies, including shop owners and customers," said a witness at Bakara Market.

Residents accused African Union peacekeepers, known as AMISOM, of shelling the marketplace in response to insurgent mortar attacks on Mogadishu's main port.

AMISOM commanders who spoke with Mogadishu journalists denied reports that the African peacekeepers shelled the market. Somali government officials declined to comment on the latest massacre of civilians in Mogadishu.

Sources at Mogadishu's port have said that AMISOM peacekeepers have been unloading weapons including tanks from a military ship docked at the port under a shroud of secrecy. READ: Somalia: African peacekeepers 'unload weaponry at Mogadishu port'

Mogadishu has been plagued by a bloody insurgency that has killed upwards of 18,000 people since early 2007. Somali insurgents have vowed to overthrow the Horn of Africa country's internationally recognized interim government, which enjoys the support of African peacekeepers and Western funding.

Source: Garowe Online