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| Four die in Villa Somalia attack | Four die in Villa Somalia attack |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Four people have been killed after Islamist insurgents launched a mortar attack on the presidential palace in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. | Four people have been killed after Islamist insurgents launched a mortar attack on the presidential palace in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. |
| President Abdullahi Yusuf was there at the time but no mortars landed inside the compound, a security officer said. | President Abdullahi Yusuf was there at the time but no mortars landed inside the compound, a security officer said. |
| Mogadishu has seen rising violence since Ethiopian-backed government troops ousted Islamists last December. | Mogadishu has seen rising violence since Ethiopian-backed government troops ousted Islamists last December. |
| Hundreds have since died in clashes between Islamist-backed insurgents and government-backed Ethiopian troops. | Hundreds have since died in clashes between Islamist-backed insurgents and government-backed Ethiopian troops. |
| The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan says at least three mortars were fired at the palace - know as Villa Somalia. | |
| One of the mortars landed on a home, killing three children and their mother and injuring several other civilians. | One of the mortars landed on a home, killing three children and their mother and injuring several other civilians. |
| Mortars were also fired at the main football stadium in south Mogadishu, which serves as the base for Ethiopian forces, our correspondent says. | Mortars were also fired at the main football stadium in south Mogadishu, which serves as the base for Ethiopian forces, our correspondent says. |
| "We had about five heavy explosions inside the stadium but we do not have any idea of the Ethiopian casualties," Abdi Qdar, who lives close to the stadium, told BBC News. | |
| Witnesses said the Ethiopian troops responded by firing mortars, which landed on homes surrounding the base, injuring civilians. | |
| UN humanitarian chief John Holmes says the situation in Mogadishu is worsening, and that recent fighting has hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid. | |
| The UN refugee agency says some 400,000 people have fled the fighting in the capital in the past four months. | |
| Somali opposition groups are meeting in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, to unite forces against the Ethiopian-backed transitional government. | Somali opposition groups are meeting in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, to unite forces against the Ethiopian-backed transitional government. |