12 civilians killed

MOGADISHU: An exchange of heavy mortar fire between African Union forces and Islamist insurgents in Mogadishu left at least 12 civilians dead and scores wounded, officials and medical sources said on Monday. The AU peacekeepers fired several mortar rounds into northern Mogadishu districts in retaliation for artillery attacks by the rebels late on Sunday. “Our team collected eight bodies of civilians who were killed in the shelling,” said Ali Musa, the head of the war-ravaged city’s ambulance service. Witness Abdulahi Nure said four other civilians were killed.

Army, rebels clash

SANAA: Government forces reported renewed clashes with Shiite rebels in northern Yemen on Monday, two days after the insurgents said they were ready for a truce if Sanaa halted attacks. “Forces were able to destroy a number of rebel hideouts in the Saada district,” military sources said, adding that “a number of rebels” were killed. The rebels, known as Huthis after the name of their late leader, are based in a mountain region on the Saudi border, where they have been locked in fighting with Yemeni and Saudi forces.

24 killed in Mexico

CIUDAD JUAREZ: At least 24 people were killed in separate incidents in northern Mexico on Sunday as the country reeled from a wave of drug-related violence. In Ciudad Juarez, gunmen drove up to a house where a high school party was in full swing and opened fire killing 14 people and wounding 17 others. Meanwhile, 10 people were killed and 11 were wounded when gunmen attacked a bar in the city of Torreon, in the northern state of Coahuila.