At least 10 killed in Somalia battle

Somalian troops and their Ethiopian allies pounded insurgent positions here in the capital with bombs and tank shells Thursday, sending residents fleeing a surge in fighting that killed at least 10 people and wounded 50.

The military operation was the beginning of a three-day push to restore order in Mogadishu as Ethiopian troops who helped oust an Islamist militia withdraw, a spokesman for the Somalian president said.

Despite near-daily attacks by fighters believed to be the remnants of the Islamist militia, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that his forces had “broken the backbone” of the insurgents and that most of his troops had left Somalia.

At least six of those killed Thursday were believed to be civilians caught in a gun battle between Ethiopian troops and insurgents, residents said. One man, Bare Abdulle, said he saw a civilian dragging the body of an Ethiopian soldier.

Fifty people were being treated at Mogadishu’s Medina Hospital, said Sheik Don Salad Ilmi, the hospital’s director.

Leyla Ali Moalim said she and her children were separated when the fighting broke out.

“All my children took refuge in a mosque, where they are trapped,” she said by phone.

The Ethiopians met with stiff resistance from a dozen gunmen who used rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and machine guns, said Khalid Mohammed Arabey, a resident of south Mogadishu. The troops responded with artillery and tank shells.

Helicopters dropped several bombs on insurgent positions.