Somalis fleeing renewed bloodshed

Mogadishu, 12 May-(ANA)-Thousands of residents of Somalia's capital are fleeing as the death toll from fighting in Mogadishu rises.

A health official said 14 people had been killed overnight. A local human rights group estimates more than 120 have died in recent days.

On Monday, Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed blamed radical Islamists for the renewed bloodshed.

He said the hardliners had no interest in ending the violence and wanted to take Somalia by force.

The fragile interim government has been fighting radical Islamist groups like al-Shabab since 2006. (ANA)

FA/ANA/12 May 2009---