World Digest

SOMALIA

Thousands Flee Battle

Thousands fled their homes in the capital, Mogadishu, on Monday after at least 35 people were killed over the weekend in some of the worst fighting in weeks, while masked Islamist fighters were seen heading toward the city.

An official with the Elman Human Rights Organization said about 17,200 people have fled Mogadishu since Saturday.

The renewed violence is pitting pro-government fighters against those allied with al-Shabab, an insurgent group seeking to overthrow the Western-backed government and establish an Islamic state. Over the weekend, both sides pounded the capital with mortar rounds and machine-gun fire.

-- Associated Press

GEORGIA

Wider Protests Vowed

The opposition vowed Monday to take protests nationwide after refusing a power-sharing offer from the president, who they say must resign.

A meeting between President Mikheil Saakashvili and four of his most outspoken opponents ended in stalemate. The opposition promised to escalate the month-long standoff in which thousands have demonstrated outside government buildings, occasionally clashing with police.

Critics say the U.S.-backed Saakashvili led Georgia into the disastrous war with Russia last summer and allege he is backtracking on democratic progress.

-- Associated Press

SRI LANKA

Civilian Toll Mounts

Volunteers dug mass graves in the marshes of Sri Lanka's northern war zone Monday as they buried hundreds of civilians killed in artillery attacks the United Nations called a "bloodbath."