In Somalia, at least seven people were killed and 23 others wounded in heavy shelling between Somali government forces backed by African Union Peacekeepers and Islamist fighters in Mogadishu on Wednesday. The Head of the Emergency Service said shelling ensued after Islamist rebels attacked positions of the Somali government forces who responded with a barrage of heavy artillery that targeted the main Bakara market. Insurgents allegedly used it as a hideout and launching pad of mortar attacks. Several salvos landed in and around Bakara market after the clashes began and seven people died. Neither the Somali government nor the Islamist rebels have commented on the last flare-up of fighting between the two sides. Traders at the Bakara market say they have been moving their businesses out of volatile market which has become the scene of deadly shelling for the past three years.