13 die in Somalia fighting

MOGADISHU, Somalia – An emergency official in Somalia says a new outbreak of fighting between Islamist militants and government forces has killed 13 people as a spokesman for Somalia’s most powerful militia declares a “massive” war.Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the al-Shabab militia, said that militants were starting a new war against invaders, by which he appeared to mean the 6 000 African Union troops deployed in Mogadishu.Fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, broke out soon after Rage held a news conference. Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service, said 13 people were killed and 50 injured.Militants and government and African Union troops exchanged mortars and tank fire. (AP)