(11 Mar 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Various of Somali government forces in pick-up truck with machine gun mounted in back, firing (reportedly at insurgents, unseen)
2. Various of Somali government forces on foot, sheltering behind corner, man steps out to shoot
3. Various African Union tank firing, reportedly towards insurgent positions
4. Shakey shot of soldier at corner, empty road
5. Women fleeing with belongings
6. Van with mattresses on top driving away
7. Set up shot of Yusuf Mohamed Siyad, the Somali Minister of Defence
8. SOUNDBITE: (Somali) Yusuf Mohamed Siyad, Somali Minister of Defence
"We as a government still control a large part of the city. The insurgents'' claim of taking over is an open lie. They don''t dare to overrun our position, we have killed so many of them since yesterday in the fighting."
9. Various of wounded wheeled on trolley into hospital
10. Various of wounded people in hospital beds, including woman and child
STORYLINE
Heavy fighting between insurgents and pro-government troops in the Somali capital Mogadishu has killed at least 43 people in the space of two days, officials said on Thursday, as African Union peacekeepers used tanks to help the beleaguered government beat back an insurgent attack.
Militants attacking from the north on Wednesday managed to get within a mile (1.6 kilometres) of the Presidential Palace in the heart of the capital, before African Union peacekeepers in tanks reinforced government troops, residents said.
But Somali Defence Minister Yusuf Mohamed Siyad insisted on Thursday that the government still controlled a large part of the city.
"The insurgents'' claim of taking over is an open lie. They don''t dare to overrun our position, we have killed so many of them since yesterday in the fighting," said Siyad.
Neither the insurgents nor the U.N.-backed government can take and hold enough ground for a decisive victory.
The government is supported by around 5,300 African Union peacekeepers, whose tanks and armoured vehicles help them to outgun the insurgents.
The insurgents favour mobile hit-and-run attacks, using snipers and mortar fire to make it hard for the government''s poorly trained and irregularly paid soldiers to hold their position.
The government, the insurgents, and the African Union peacekeepers have all been criticised by human rights groups for indiscriminately firing into and shelling residential neighbourhoods.
But the criticism has had little effect.
More than half of those living in Somalia''s seaside capital have fled. Those remaining are mostly too poor to move or fear being attacked as they leave.
Compounding the residents'' dilemma, an Islamist group issued a series of demands at the beginning of the year that caused the UN''s World Food Program to pull out of much of southern Somalia.
Families fleeing into the countryside may find nothing to eat.
The government hopes to break the stalemate with an upcoming offensive, but its launch has been delayed by problems that include inadequate equipment and training.
There has been a surge in fighting since the beginning of the year, when the offensive was first being publicly discussed.
Even if the government push succeeds, few Somalis trust an administration that has failed to deliver even a semblance of services or security more than a year after it took power.
The arid Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning government since the overthrow of a socialist dictator in 1991.
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