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23.03.2006
Heavy fighting is continuing in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, between warlords and an armed Islamist group.
Hospital officials say at least 60 people have been killed in two days of clashes in the north of the city. Residents say mortars are being used.
The warlords accuse the Islamists of sheltering foreign fighters and assassinating moderate Muslims.
Somalia has been without an effective central government for 15 years and has been carved up by rival militas.
A transitional parliament met recently for the first time on home soil since it was formed in Kenya more than a year ago as part of attempts to restore peace and stability.
The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says residents fear that with such a strong ideological divide between the two sides, it may prove difficult to negotiate an end to the fighting.
The dispute started near the port area, which is currently controlled by powerful businessmen.
Much of the fighting has been in residential areas and the latest clashes are reportely closer to the city centre.
More than 50 wounded have been taken to hospitals.
Four days of fighting last month between the two sides was some of the heaviest fighting seen in the Somali capital for several years.
At least five warlords-cum-ministers in the transitional government are behind the new Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, opposed to the Islamic courts' militia.
The courts have set up Mogadishu's only judicial system in parts of the capital but have been accused of links to al-Qaeda.
Hospital officials say at least 60 people have been killed in two days of clashes in the north of the city. Residents say mortars are being used.
The warlords accuse the Islamists of sheltering foreign fighters and assassinating moderate Muslims.
Somalia has been without an effective central government for 15 years and has been carved up by rival militas.
A transitional parliament met recently for the first time on home soil since it was formed in Kenya more than a year ago as part of attempts to restore peace and stability.
The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says residents fear that with such a strong ideological divide between the two sides, it may prove difficult to negotiate an end to the fighting.
The dispute started near the port area, which is currently controlled by powerful businessmen.
Much of the fighting has been in residential areas and the latest clashes are reportely closer to the city centre.
More than 50 wounded have been taken to hospitals.
Four days of fighting last month between the two sides was some of the heaviest fighting seen in the Somali capital for several years.
At least five warlords-cum-ministers in the transitional government are behind the new Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, opposed to the Islamic courts' militia.
The courts have set up Mogadishu's only judicial system in parts of the capital but have been accused of links to al-Qaeda.