Saturday, July 03, 2010
"We lost two soldiers and three others were injured during clashes with the violent elements in Mogadishu in the beginning of this month," Major Barigye Ba-Hoku, spokesman for the AU peacekeepers in the Somali capital, said.
"The soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice of their life for ensuring peace and stability in Somalia, we are very proud of them," he told a press conference.
Government troops backed by AU peacekeepers Thursday launched an offensive to recapture positions taken by the hardline Islamist rebels in clashes earlier this week.
Twenty-six civilians were killed during Thursday's fighting and five others on Friday in sporadic fire exchanges.
Both the government and the militants claimed victory and that there were casualties on both sides.
On Saturday a precarious calm had returned to northern Mogadishu, with both sides still camped on their positions of the previous day.
Source: AFP