MOGADISHU (AFP) — At least eight people, including two civilians, were killed in heavy fighting between soldiers and insurgents Wednesday in northern Mogadishu, witnesses told AFP.

“I witnessed the death of three Ethiopian Woyanne troops. They were killed by bullets after being ambushed,” local resident Ali Dhaqane said of the clashes in the Suqaholaha neighbourhood.

“I was forced to flee the area where I lived because of the intensity of the violence. The ambush was carried out by heavily armed Somali gunmen,” he said.

Abdullahi Tahlil, another eyewitness, also gave a death toll of at least eight and said that three Somali insurgents were among the dead.

“Their guns were collected by fellow fighters,” he said. “The fighting was not far from my house.”

Islamist fighters seized control of Ethiopian a Woyanne military compound in northern Mogadishu after the fighting, the Islamists and an independent source told AFP.

“Maslah military compound that was used by the Ethiopian troops is now under our control. We fought fiercely against the enemy (and seized it),” one of the fighters told AFP.

Another source that requested anonymity confirmed the seizure, which is a setback to efforts to stabilize the troubled country.

A pro-Islamist website published a picture of the seized camp.

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Somali Insurgents force Ethiopian soldiers to vacate army base

MOGADISHU (Garowe Online) – Heavy fighting erupted in the Somali capital early Wednesday morning after Islamist rebels attacked an Ethiopian Woyanne army base in northern Mogadishu, our correspondent reported.

At least six people – three Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers and three insurgents – have been confirmed dead during the battle, which lasted for nearly five hours, according to witnesses.

More than 10 civilians were wounded during the onslaught. Locals who live in and around Mogadishu’s livestock market in Huriwa district said they could not leave their homes during the battle.

Ethiopian Woyanne troops stationed at the Maslah army camp spread into the livestock market and were reportedly moving equipment and other military materials to the ex-pasta factory when they came under gunfire.

The fighting started off slowly, but gradually strengthened as more insurgents joined the battle and Ethiopian soldiers left their barracks at the former pasta factory base to reinforce troops at Maslah.

The Ethiopian Woyanne army used tanks against insurgents who used mortars and rockets during the battle. Several shells hit neighborhoods but casualties could not be confirmed yet.

Military sources in Mogadishu tell Garowe Online that the Ethiopian Woyanne troops stationed at the Maslah camp were being relocated to the pasta factory, citing logistical difficulties that impacted the supply route.

The latest reports indicate that Islamist gunmen had successfully captured Maslah camp after the Ethiopian troops withdrew towards the ex-pasta factory.

A bloody insurgency has gripped Mogadishu since January 2007 when Ethiopian troops helped install the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government in the Somali capital.

Thousands of people have been killed and more than half a million civilians displaced from their homes in Mogadishu since, according to human rights groups.