Somali rebels attack peacekeepers

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Islamist insurgents armed with machine guns and grenades have attacked an African Union base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the force said.

At least one rebel was killed when the Ugandan peacekeepers returned fire but the AU said it sustained no casualties.

The attack comes two days after rebel leader Sheikh Aden Hashi Ayrow ordered his fighters to target AU troops.

Uganda has some 1,700 soldiers in Somalia as part of the planned 8,000-strong AU peacekeeping mission.

The overnight raid on AU troops in Mogadishu's K-4 neighbourhood led to a 90-minute battle.

The UN is warning of a humanitarian crisis for Somalia's refugees"We killed one insurgent. His body is still lying there. There are no casualties on our side," AU spokesman Cpt Paddy Ankunda told Reuters news agency.

"They attacked us in two groups using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades and we defended ourselves. We have a mandate to defend ourselves," he said.

In further violence in the capital on Saturday, a mini-van carrying civilians hit a landmine leaving two people dead and dozens injured, local media reported.

Door-to-door search

In an audio clip posted on Somali websites this week, Sheikh Ayrow also asked foreign fighters to join his al-Shabab group's war against the foreign forces.

Al-Shabab is the militant wing of the Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu for six months last year before being ousted by advancing Ethiopian troops.

President Abdullahi Yusuf blames the militant group for the recent violence.

In Mogadishu, Ethiopian and government troops have been conducting a door-to-door search for the insurgents in the capital over the past week, sparking deadly clashes.

The Ugandan military has dismissed the threat, saying its peacekeepers would not withdraw but defend themselves if necessary.

The United Nations says some 170,000 people have fled the violence this week and hundreds of others have been injured in the crossfire.