Muhyadin Ahmed Roble, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
At least 20 civilians were killed on Thursday evening and 40 others wounded after mortars and artillery shells hit the capital Mogadishu, according to eye witnesses' account. The deadly clashes erupted after Islamist insurgents fired at the presidency building, residents told AfricaNews.
The African union peacekeepers and government forces patrolling the presidential place returned mortars and artillery shells to southern Somalia where the Islamists control.
A resident Aweys Ahmed told AfricaNews on Thursday that mortars and artillery shells hit the civilian houses.
Ali Muse, director of Mogadishu's ambulance service, has confirmed the collection of about 19 civilians and over 35 injured.
Local media reported the death toll has increased on Friday after some of the wounded people died in the hospitals.
The insurgents frequently fire mortars to bases of the AU peacekeeping forces and Somali weak government but AU and government forces react in the areas controlled by the rebel group.
The fighting in Somalia has killed over 19,000 Somalis since 2007 and displaced another 1.5 million. Somalia is one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies.
Horn of Africa nation has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
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