Fighting flares in Somali capital

Mogadishu is controlled by thousands of gunmen

Heavy fighting has broken out in the north of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, with residents fleeing from the area.

Eyewitnesses say at least 23 people have been killed, and more than 50 wounded have been taken to hospitals.

Supporters of some of Mogadishu's militia leaders are clashing with an armed Islamist group seeking to establish law and order.

The dispute has been over the port area, which is currently controlled by powerful businessmen.

The country's parliament met recently for the first time on home soil since it was formed in Kenya more than a year ago.

Facts and figures about life in Somalia

At-a-glance

Four days of fighting last month between the two sides was some of the heaviest fighting seen in the Somali capital for several years.

Clashes between armed groups have been common in Somalia since former military leader Muhammad Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. The country has been without a functioning government since then.

The BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says the fighting in the north of the city pits a new group, the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, against the Islamic courts' militia.

At least five warlords-cum-ministers in the transitional government are behind the new alliance, opposed to the Islamic courts.

The courts have set up Mogadishu's only judicial system in parts of the capital but have been accused of links to al-Qaeda.

Their critics accuse the courts of being behind the killing of moderate Muslim scholars.