In Somalia, at least 30 people were killed and almost 50 others wounded on Friday in fierce battles in the capital Mogadishu and in a southern border town. Witnesses said battles between the government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers and Islamist fighters continued in restive Mogadishu and in the southern Somali town of Bulo Hawa on the border with Kenya.Medical sources in Mogadishu report that 10 people were killed and 20 others injured in the fighting. In Bulo Hawa, heavy fighting continued for the third day between Islamist fighters and allied Somali government forces and militias of a moderate sect. Medical sources said 20 people were killed and thirty others wounded, most of them civilians who were caught in the crossfire. The Somali government launched late last week a much- anticipated offensive against radical Islamist group of Al Shabaab that control much of the south-central part of the war-torn country. Army commanders say they have made major gains in the latest onslaught against the insurgents who lost key positions in the coastal capital of Mogadishu.