80 Reportedly Die in Somali Assaults

More than 80 people were killed Sunday and dozens wounded, witnesses said, in some of the worst factional fighting in months in the Somali capital.

Gunfire and loud explosions continued throughout the day Sunday.

At least 42 people died after three mortar rounds landed on the crowded Bakara market in south Mogadishu in an area controlled by faction leader Hussein Mohammed Aidid, according to witnesses. Among the fatalities were 20 women selling jewelry, and most of the others were also civilians.

Many of the bodies were mutilated by shrapnel, and the market was awash in blood. At least 150 wounded passersby were taken to nearby hospitals.

In an area called Medina, also in south Mogadishu, about 40 people were believed killed in fighting, said sources at Ali Hassan hospital. Residents contacted by phone reported 23 bodies in the main market street.

Among the dead in Medina were seven brothers--ages six months to 14 years--who died when a mortar round landed on their house. Their parents were wounded.