Hundreds flee Mogadishu clashes

Hundreds of Somalis fled their homes Thursday fearing clashes after African Union troops attacked holdout Islamist Shebab militia positions on the outskirts of the war-wracked capital Mogadishu. Columns of loaded vehicles headed into the city from Elashabi-yaha and KM13 districts outside Mogadishu, as AU forces moved into positions they seized from the Al-Qaeda-linked rebels this week after heavy fighting. The neighbourhoods lie on the road to rebel-held Afgoye town, some 30 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu, which the AU forces have said they also plan to attack. “Hundreds of displaced people are returning to Mogadishu fearing fighting in the Afgoye corridor,” a district official said.