Somalia’s opposition supporters and security forces clashed in the capital, Mogadishu, on Thursday for a second day ahead of a planned anti-government demonstration. No official casualty figures were immediately available from the violence that prompted calls for restraint from the United Nations and the United States as the government and opposition traded blame for the violence. Residents reported heavy gunfire and explosions as fighting broke out in several neighborhoods Wednesday. “We heard heavy weapons fire, and people were fleeing their homes,” said Abdullahi Mohamed, who lives in the city’s Howlwadaag district. “Many families left the area looking for safer places.”

Full report : Somali military and opposition-allied militias trade fire ahead of anti-government protests.