Mogadishu, July 02, SPA -- Heavy fighting in the Somalicapital killed at least 20 people today, the second day offierce clashes as government forces tried to drive hardlineIslamists out of their Mogadishu bases, according to Reuters. Al Qaeda-linked fighters in Somalia's al Shabaab rebel groupare battling to oust President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, himself aformer Islamist insurgent who joined a peace process last year. Al Shabaab and allied fighters control much of southern andcentral Somalia and have boxed the government and 4,300 AfricanUnion peacekeepers into a few blocks of Mogadishu. "The streets were horrific," ambulance service official AliMuse told Reuters. "We've transported 20 dead bodies and 55injured in the latest fighting." Western nations and Somalia's neighbours worry that if therebels succeed in toppling Ahmed, the Horn of Africa nation willbecome a safe haven for al Qaeda training camps, and hardlineIslamists will destabilise the region. At an African Union summit in Libya, AU leaders discussedbeefing up their force and whether to give the troops a strongermandate to take the fight to the rebels. At present, the troops from Uganda and Burundi are largelyconfined to their bases and protect key sites such as thepresidential palace, airport and seaport. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/680642