Shells rock Mogadishu, corpses rot in street

By Sahal Abdulle

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Rotting corpses lay in the open and explosions shook Mogadishu on Sunday for a fifth day of fighting between insurgents and allied Somali-Ethiopian troops that have killed at least 230 people.

Illustrating regional divisions many say are fomenting the escalating war, Eritrea pulled out of the east African group IGAD after a rift with Ethiopia over Somalia. The feuding neighbors each accuse the other of stirring the conflict.

In an ever-growing exodus some say is nearing half a million people, hundreds more Somalis trudged out of Mogadishu on Sunday, dragging and carrying belongings on their head.

"I have lost all hope," one woman said, walking at the head of 11 relatives, mainly children.

Terrified residents shuddered at the sound of mortars, mainly from the north where fighting has been worst.

"Seven of us were in a bus when a mortar hit," said trader Barlin Salad. "Four were in the back, one died instantly. I'm not sure yet, but I think my husband has lost an eye."

With an insurgency simmering since the ouster of militant Islamist rulers from Mogadishu at the New Year, this week's violence has been one of the worst sustained flare-ups since.

The local Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation said at least 41 civilians and six insurgents died on Sunday, adding to 52 on Saturday and 131 from Wednesday to Friday.