Islamist rebels seize two towns

Hundreds of residents fled Somalia's capital on foot, by car and on donkey carts yesterday and others cleared the streets of corpses after a bloody weekend that left dozens dead.

Somali rebels seized two more towns – Guda, on the southern coast, and Dinsor, in the south-central area – as battles continued between Islamist-led insurgents and allied Ethiopian-Somali troops.

Fighting between Ethiopian troops and Islamic fighters trying to topple Somalia's shaky government killed 81 people over two days, a local human rights group said. Hospitals reported similar tallies, with more than 70 dead.

"We have left our homes for the first time in days to find the dead bodies of our neighbors and bury them," said Aden Haji Yusuf, 60, one of Somalia's highly revered clan elders.

Gunshots — a frighteningly common sound in this bloodstained capital — echoed in the distance as Yusuf and other elders recovered bodies.

An Associated Press reporter saw at least 10 bodies being collected around a mosque.

Meanwhile, hundreds took advantage of the relative lull in violence Monday to escape Mogadishu, abandoning their homes and possessions.

"Ethiopian tanks are still stationed inside our neighborhoods and the insurgents are likely to launch counterattacks, so we are leaving for our own safety," said Faduma Ahmed, fleeing with her brother and six children.

Ethiopian troops supporting the transitional government's soldiers come under daily attack from the Islamic fighters they chased from power in the capital in December 2006.