At least 19 people, many of them civilians¹, have been killed in an outburst of fighting in the divided Somali capital Mogadishu.

索马里首都摩加迪休发生斗殴事故，至少19人丧生，其中大多数是平民。

Government forces were marking a military anniversary

Thirteen people died when African Union peacekeepers and government forces hit back（抵抗，反击） after a militant² attack on a military ceremony.

Reports say the AU forces used heavy artillery³（重型火炮） in densely⁴（密集地，浓密地） populated areas in what was the worst shelling in months.

Another six people were killed by roadside bombs near Mogadishu airport.

"It was indiscriminate（任意的，无差别的） shelling," Ali Muse⁵, head of Mogadishu's ambulance services, told AFP news agency.

"Our teams collected the bodies of 16 civilians, while 55 others were injured in the shelling. Several children are among the dead."

The shelling started in the afternoon when Islamist fighters fired mortars⁶ at the presidential palace and airport during a ceremony commemorating⁷（庆祝，纪念） the 50th anniversary of the country's national army.

Government troops backed by the AU reportedly responded with heavy artillery fire.

At the airport, a blast hit a military vehicle, killing⁸ two soldiers, said eyewitness⁹ Haji Dahir Igale.

"Afterward¹⁰ local residents and some other government officials rushed to the scene to help the injured and as they gathered the second explosion went off, killing four civilians."

Somalia has not had a functioning government in decades and the Islamist rebels control large parts of its territory.