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| Blasts hit Somalia peacekeepers | Blasts hit Somalia peacekeepers |
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| Two huge explosions have gone off at an African Union peacekeepers' base in the Somali capital, witnesses say. | Two huge explosions have gone off at an African Union peacekeepers' base in the Somali capital, witnesses say. |
| The Islamist al-Shabab group has said it carried out a double suicide attack, reports the AFP news agency. One witness said he had seen two bodies. | The Islamist al-Shabab group has said it carried out a double suicide attack, reports the AFP news agency. One witness said he had seen two bodies. |
| Six injured peacekeepers were seen being carried away from the base near the Mogadishu airport, says Reuters. | |
| Al-Shabab on Tuesday vowed to avenge a US raid in southern Somalia, which reportedly killed an al-Qaeda suspect. | Al-Shabab on Tuesday vowed to avenge a US raid in southern Somalia, which reportedly killed an al-Qaeda suspect. |
| "I have seen the bodies of two people who were brought from the area," said a witness, Ali Mohamed, adding that they looked like Somalis, AFP reports. | "I have seen the bodies of two people who were brought from the area," said a witness, Ali Mohamed, adding that they looked like Somalis, AFP reports. |
| There are some 5,000 AU troops, mostly from Uganda and Burundi, in Mogadishu, protecting the weak, UN-backed government. | There are some 5,000 AU troops, mostly from Uganda and Burundi, in Mogadishu, protecting the weak, UN-backed government. |
| Earlier, al-Shabab demanded that France ensure that AU forces are pulled out of Somalia. | Earlier, al-Shabab demanded that France ensure that AU forces are pulled out of Somalia. |
| Reporting from inside Somalia Somali demands for French hostage | |
| This was one of several demands issued by al-Shabab for the release of a French security adviser captured in July. | This was one of several demands issued by al-Shabab for the release of a French security adviser captured in July. |
| Al-Shabab and its allies control most of southern and central Somalia, while the government, helped by the AU force, just runs parts of Mogadishu. | |
| The country has not had a functioning central government since 1991, leading to a complete breakdown of law and order both on land and in recent years in Somali waters. | |
| President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist and former insurgent, was chosen in January after UN-brokered peace talks. | |
| He has vowed to implement Sharia but al-Shabab accuses him of being a Western puppet. | |
| Years of fighting and anarchy have left some three million people - half the population - needing food aid. |