Mogadishu (Somalia): Grenades hurled by insurgents killed at least five Somalis around the capital's main market, a witness said today.

Mohamed Abdulle Matan, one of the main traders at the Bakara market, said two soldiers were also wounded in the attack, a day after the government announced a major security crackdown on Islamic insurgents. "The insurgent groups hurled at least nine hand grenades at the soldiers and the soldiers returned fire," he said. One of the dead was an attorney at the regional court, he said.

The shaky UN-backed government has been struggling to assert its authority after it chased a powerful Islamic alliance out of power last December with the help of its Ethiopian allies. The Islamic fighters vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency against the government and the Ethiopians and the fighting has claimed thousands of lives this year.

Elsewhere in the city, the Ugandan Ambassador to Somalia, Sam Turyamuhika, said the two country's had signed an agreement to help reconcile the government with opposing groups. Turyamuhika also said that Uganda would help the transitional government distribute food and water to displaced Somalis around Mogadishu. Uganda currently has 1,800 peacekeepers in Somalia, which were originally sent as part of a 8,000-strong African Union force.