Somali authorities have announced plans to impose a curfew on the capital, where at least five people were killed on Thursday in the latest violence to undermine government attempts to restore law.
Two policemen died when hand grenades were lobbed at officers patrolling Mogadishu's Bakara market, witnesses said. The police opened fire in the direction of the attackers, scattering the crowds and killing at least three civilians. "Everybody is running away. I am now closing my shop. Business has come to a standstill," shopkeeper Mohammed Abdi told Reuters.
Another trader, Ibrahim Hussein, was also going home to escape the chaos. "I saw one dead policeman while another one was lying writhing in pain. He was very seriously wounded. I don't think he will survive," he said.
Islamist fighters have waged an insurgency in Mogadishu since the New Year when their leaders who briefly controlled much of southern Somalia were ousted by the interim government and its Ethiopian allies.
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