Somalia fighting spreads to Kismayu

Government soldiers were reported to have been pushed to the edge of the town by late on Monday.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow said residents told him that up to 15 people had been killed.

"This morning fighting occured between one of the main clans there, its militia was fighting Somali government forces and as the day developed ... the clan militia got the upper hand," he said.

"This is a clan that has not been happy with the government coming to Kismayu and has been complaining ... to senior government officials."

Mogadishu fighting

In Mogadishu, at least 37 more people were killed as fighters opposed to the transitional government battled Ethiopian forces.

Mohamed, a resident, said: "Anybody who has any means of fleeing the area has left."

The UN refugee agency said last week that more than 321,000 people had fled the capital since February 1, but clan elders told AFP news agency that figure could now be closer to 400,000 with the exodus of thousands more over the past six days.

Mukhtar Mohamed, a resident of Fagah in northern Mogadishu, said: "I have seen Ethiopian tanks taking positions and heavily shelling insurgent positions.

"The fighting is heavier [than] yesterday, the rivals are exchanging machine gun, mortar and anti-aircraft fire."

At least 267 people have died since the clashes began last Wednesday, the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation, a local group that tracks the number of casualties, said.

Casualties increasing

Hussein Said Korgab, a spokesman for the Hawiye clan, Mogadishu's largest, said: "The fighting is very heavy and the casualties are steadily increasing everyday. The Ethiopian forces are hitting civilians indiscriminately."

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