At least 24 people have been killed in fighting in the Somalian capital Mogadishu.

Islamist insurgents fired mortar shells at the presidential palace. Sixteen people were killed when soldiers of the African Union peacekeeping force returned fire with artillery. Elsewhere in Mogadishu, a dispute between soldiers and police officers escalated into a firefight in which eight people were killed.

Eyewitnesses report that thousands of people have fled Mogadishu for fear of a government offensive which has been expected for some time.There have also been reports about hundreds of heavily armed insurgents leaving their positions in southern Somalia and marching on the capital.