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July 23 (Bloomberg) -- At least 18 people died and 50 were wounded in clashes between Somali government forces and Islamist rebels in the capital, Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said.

The fighting began yesterday after evening prayers when insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at an African Union base near Dabka Junction in the south of the city, Bile Aweys Mohamed, a resident of the area who witnessed the event, said in an interview. African Union peacekeepers aided government soldiers in the fighting, he said.

“I ran away and hid in my home,” Mohamed said. “The fighting was heavy with both sides exchanging machine-gun fire and mortar shells.”

At least 10,000 people have been forced to flee Mogadishu since May, when Islamists opposed to President >>>