At least 53 people were killed in Somalia when Islamist insurgents clashed with Ethiopian troops and Ugandan peacekeepers in separate battles, a human rights group said on Wednesday. The latest flare-up in the 18-month-old insurgency came a week before a UN-mediated cease-fire between an Islamist faction and the interim Somali government is to take effect.
The interim government and Ethiopia both declined comment on the clashes or any casualties.