Fierce clashes between Somali rebels and government forces resumed early Thursday in different parts of restive Mogadishu  as death toll from previous fighting rises to 30.

Witnesses said rebel fighters and government forces backed by African Union troops engaged in heavy gun fire accompanied by shelling in northern districts of Karan, Yaqshid, Shibbis and Abdiasis.

“I have seen the dead bodies of four people from the same family. Most of the residents have fled and the situation is still tense,” said a resident of Yaqshid.

He added that several mortar rounds rained on the area overnight and in the morning, leaving them terrified.

Bakara market, an insurgent stronghold has also came under attack from AU troops. The casualty figure is still scanty but reports say the market, which is usually bustling with people, was not jammed at the time of the shelling.

Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service said most of the dead and injured are civilians.

Sheikh Ali Mohammud Raghe, an Al-Shabaab spokesman told reporters in Mogadishu that his group has thwarted the government’s plans to capture the areas under their control.

However, his claims were refuted by state minister for defense Yussuf Mohammed Said Inda’ade who said government forces are in control of many parts in the districts, promising to present dead bodies and war prisoners of Al-Shabaab.

The clashes enter its second day running as death from previous day fighting rise to at least 60 people with more than 150 others nursing wounds in different Mogadishu hospitals.

T he UN-backed government has been vowing to launch full scale offensive against the powerful rebels in a bid to retain the control of the capital.

GAROWE ONLINE