Residents Flee Capital After Scores Die in Clashes

MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 21 -- Hundreds of residents fled Somalia's capital on foot, by car and on donkey carts Monday and others cleared the streets of corpses after a weekend of clashes that left scores dead.

Fighting between Ethiopian troops and Islamist 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 revered clan elders.

Gunshots echoed in the distance as Yusuf and other elders recovered bodies. At least 10 bodies were being collected Monday 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 Islamist fighters they chased from power in the capital in December 2006.

The Islamists receive support from Ethiopia's archenemy, Eritrea.

Impoverished Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a dictator and then turned on one another.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the United States continues to support Somalia's government. U.S. officials have long been concerned that al-Qaeda could use the lawless country as a haven for terrorists.

Al-Shabaab, the military wing of the Islamic Courts movement that controlled much of the country's south until late 2006, was added this year to the department's list of foreign terrorist organizations, and some of its leaders are believed to have al-Qaeda ties.

"Obviously, there are extremist groups that are still in the country that are still intent on using violence to try and achieve their objectives, rather than in participating in the political process," Casey said. "This is an ongoing concern for us."

In Madrid on Monday, Spain's Foreign Ministry said pirates hijacked a Spanish fishing boat with a crew of 26 off the coast of Somalia on Sunday. There were no reports of injuries, the ministry said.

It said the Playa de Bakio, which fishes for tuna, is based in Spain's Basque region.

A Spanish frigate in the area was headed toward the scene of the hijacking, a Foreign Ministry official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with ministry rules.

The Spanish Embassy in Kenya, which has responsibility for Somalia, has begun "contacts with authorities in the area," the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Somali pirates seized a French luxury yacht and held 30 people hostage for a week. They were freed in apparent exchange for a ransom. French troops captured six of the pirates April 11 on land in Somalia.