Violence Explodes in Mogadishu

113 civilians have been killed in the last 3 days as fighting between pro-government fighters and an insurgent group increases. More than 27,000 have been forced to flee their homes.

The renewed violence in the Horn of Africa nation is pitting pro-government fighters against those allied to al-Shabab, an insurgent group seeking to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government and establish an Islamic state. Over the weekend, both sides pounded the capital with mortars and machine-gunfire.

National Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden said the government would crack down on the insurgents, and said some of them were foreigners.

"They are anarchists," Aden told The Associated Press. "We will continue the fighting until we eliminate these elements."

(The image accompanies the AP story and is of a man packing all of his family's belongings onto a donkey cart as he prepares to flee Mogadishu.)