Somali troops 'push back rebels'

The government said it took some areas from the insurgents

Parts of Mogadishu are reported to be tense after government troops forced Islamist militants from positions around the presidential palace.

African Union peacekeepers joined the fierce fighting on Sunday, saying that their supply routes were threatened.

However, a spokesman denied they had been taking part in the offensive by government troops.

Reports say dozens of people were killed and about 150 wounded in Sunday's fighting.

The government said it had made substantial advances, taking a number of areas from the insurgents and killing more than 40 Islamists.

There are more than 4,000 AU troops in Somalia who are allowed to defend themselves if attacked. Their mandate includes the defence of strategic sites.

The privately-owned Somali radio HornAfrik said a relative calm had returned on Monday but the situation was "tense" and sporadic gunfire could still be heard.

Residents are fleeing their homes where the fighting had taken place in north Mogadishu, the station reported.

Mogadishu's deputy Mayor Abdifitah Shawey said the insurgents had captured an area near the presidential palace at the weekend.

"Amisom [the AU force] backed us up in this latest operation because the rebels were only 1km [from] the presidential palace," he said. "We lost three soldiers in battle."

However, AU spokesman Maj Bahoku Barigye told the BBC that they had left their compound around the presidential palace after their supply routes were threatened, and he denied that AU troops had joined a government offensive.

Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, took office in January but insurgents including the radical al-Shabab Islamists - accused of links to al-Qaeda - want to unseat him.