Roadside bombs are often used by insurgents fighting the government A roadside bomb has killed at least 20 people in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, witnesses have said. Most of the dead in the explosion were women who had gathered to clean the streets, they said. Reports say the bomb was hidden under a pile of rubbish on the main road to Mogadishu airport. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but tensions are high as Somalia's government and Ethiopian troops battle Islamist insurgents. Roadside bombs are frequently used by insurgents fighting the transitional government and its Ethiopian allies. Civilian death-toll "They were cleaning the street when this huge explosion rocked the entire neighbourhood," eyewitness Hassan Abdi Mohamed told the AFP news agency. "I counted 15 bodies, most of them are women who were torn to pieces," he added. Forty-seven wounded people - mostly women and children - were admitted to Mogadishu's Medina hospital, officials said. The UN says 1.5 million people have fled after recent fighting. Somalia's opposition groups, which include Islamists ousted from power in 2006, are opposed to Ethiopian troops remaining in Somalia. According to one estimate, more than 8,000 civilians have been killed and one million forced from their homes since the start of last year by fighting between the interim government and the insurgents. African Union troops have not been able to quell the violence, which has triggered what aid workers say may be the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa. Somalia has been devastated by conflict since 1991, when former President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted. Are you in the area? Did you witness the explosion? Send your comments using the post form below, or text 00 44 7725 800 100. Name
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According to witness reports, a bombing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has killed fifteen people, including ten women who were cleaning the street at the time of the attack. Farah Abdi, one of the witnesses, said that "it was an ugly scene with blood everywhere. I could not count the dead, I just glanced at once and I ran away for my life."
Mogadishu sown on a map of Somalia and the internationally unrecognized Somaliland. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, although ''BBC News'' states a possible link with Islamist insurgents, who are currently fighting the Ethiopian troops.

A spokesperson for the local hospital reported that 35 wounded people were admitted to their hospital, most of them woman or children.

Hasan Abdi Mohamed, another eyewitness, also described the scene at the time of the blast. "They the victims were cleaning the street when this huge explosion rocked the entire neighbourhood," he said. "I counted 15 bodies, most of them are women who were torn to pieces." 

The attack come after a period of a low level of violence caused by a peace deal that was signed between the government and insurgents.

According to the United Nations, one and a half million people have left Somalia to escape from the violence, which, according to one estimate, has resulted in eight thousand civilians being killed since January 2007.