Two Ugandan peacekeepers killed in Mogadishu clashes

A spokesman for African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) confirms that two Ugandan soldiers serving the mission have been killed in last week’s clashes that rocked Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.

Manirakiza Adolphe AMISOM's deputy public information officer said the soldiers died in fighting with insurgents for control of north Mogadishu districts.

"Two of our soldiers died in Thursday fighting. 5 others were injured and two vehicles were burnt by Al-Shabaab,� he said, adding that the peacekeepers were fighting alongside government forces.

The latest clashes has killed more than 25 people, mostly civilians and injured dozens others.

The deaths of the two soldiers add ups to more than 30, the number of peacekeepers killed since the mission began in 2007.

Some 6,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi are serving the AU peacekeeping mission, which is mandated to provide protection to transitional federal institutions and other strategic sites in Mogadishu.

Somalia has been without an effective central government for nearly two decades since the ouster of former President Mohammed Siad Bare’s regime in 1991.