Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.

New Gunbattles Erupt in Mogadishu
---------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=15B68D6:A6F02AD83191E1606815397B8CC2B6079574F7DCC14957C0 Officials say at
least one person was killed in the fighting Wednesday in the capital's
southern K4 neighborhood Somali government officials are reporting
four new U.S. airstrikes in southern Somalia, in areas where Islamist
fighters are believed to be hiding.

The officials say the attacks took place Wednesday around Ras Kamboni,
a rugged area on the Somali coast near the border with Kenya.

There has been no U.S. confirmation of the attacks.

The U.S. military has confirmed that an American AC-130 warplane
attacked a suspected al-Qaida hideout in southern Somalia on Monday.
Washington says it had intelligence that the top al-Qaida leaders in
East Africa were at that site.







Troops walk in a deserted street Mogadishu, Somalia, 10 Jan 2007Somali
officials also report new gunbattles today in the capital, Mogadishu,
where gunmen attacked an area housing Ethiopian and Somali government
troops.

The officials say at least one person was killed in the fighting in
the capital's southern K4 neighborhood. On Tuesday, assailants
attacked Ethiopian and Somali government troops in the same area with
rocket-propelled grenades.

Government troops and their Ethiopian backers drove the Islamists from
Mogadishu last month, but some militiamen are still in the capital.

Monday's air strike is the first acknowledged U.S. military action in
Somalia since 1994. Somali officials say scores of people were killed
in the U.S. raid, but it is not clear if al-Qaida operatives were
among the dead.

The United Nations Security Council is due to meet today to discuss
the latest developments in Somalia.

Diplomats are trying to assemble a peacekeeping force for the war-torn
Horn of Africa nation. Ethiopian troops supporting the interim
government are scheduled to leave within the next few weeks.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


.