Mortar strike kills 8 in Somali capital

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MOGADISHU, Dec 31 (Reuters): A mortar strike in Somalia killed eight members of a family at a refugee camp on Sunday in the latest bloodshed of fighting between Islamist- led rebels and country's interim government, witn
"My wife, five children and two of my relatives were killed by the blast," said Madey Sufi Moalim, who was buying supplies when the shell landed on the camp north of Mogadishu.
"They were cut to pieces. My wife was pregnant and my children were aged two to eight. I'm being helped by neighbours who are helping me collect the pieces of my dead family."
In separate incidents, insurgents also clashed with troops in the south of the Somali capital and attacked Ugandan peacekeepers manning the city's strategic K4 junction.
"We fought them off. No one was hurt," said Captain Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for African Union peacekeeping force.
The Horn of Africa nation has been mired in lawlessness since warlords ousted dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. The transitional government is the country's 14th attempt at restoring central government since then.