Battles resume in Somali capital

African Union peacekeepers were sent to restore order

Fighting has resumed in Somalia, a day after 16 people died during clashes between Ethiopian-backed government forces and insurgents.

A BBC correspondent in Mogadishu says four people have died in the fighting in the north and south of the city.

This week's fighting is the heaviest since 1,200 African Union peacekeepers arrived in Somalia earlier this month.

Islamist leader Sheikh Dahir Aweys has called on Somalis to resist the occupation of AU troops and Ethiopians.

Hundreds of residents are fleeing the violence.

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says the heaviest fighting was reported in the south of the city, where insurgents tried to cut supply lines to Ethiopian troops.

If all foreign troops leave Somalia we shall settle our differences Sheikh Dahir Aweys Islamist leader Somalia's complex conflict

In northern Mogadishu, government forces were attacked near a cattle market.

Internal Affairs Minister Mohammed Mohamoud Gulled said government troops were clearing insurgents ahead of April's reconciliation conference.

Mr Gulled told reporters in Mogadishu that the operation would last for seven days.

The interim government blames remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) for the escalating violence and plans to pacify the city within 30 days.

But speaking hours after the bodies of government soldiers were dragged through the streets and set on fire in Mogadishu, UIC leader Sheikh Aweys said Somalis were defending themselves.

"If all foreign troops leave Somalia we shall settle our differences. But at the moment the people in Mogadishu are defending themselves and nobody should question them," Sheikh Aweys told the BBC Somali Service from an undisclosed location.

Ethiopia has reports that the bodies were of Ethiopian soldiers.

Ethiopian troops who have been in the city since December supporting Somali forces loyal to the transitional government have been gradually handing over responsibilities to the AU force.