Two-week violence in Somalia kills 230

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says at least 230 civilians have lost their lives in Somalia over the past two weeks.

According to the UNHCR, during the fourteen-day violence between government forces and al-Shabab fighters in the capital city of Mogadishu, 400 were wounded and 23,000 people were displaced.

“UNHCR is alarmed by the further deterioration we are seeing in the situation in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu,” said spokeswoman for the agency, Melissa Fleming, quoted by AFP.

Local fighters say they will stand up to the government until all foreign forces in the capital leave the country.

More than 2,000 civilians have fled the capital since the beginning of the year.

Al-Shabab fighters say they only target government and foreign forces, blaming the Somali government and African Union troops for the civilian deaths.

Somalia has been grappling with a deadly civil war that began after the collapse of its central government and the ouster of Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.