MOGADISHU, (insidesomalia.org)- Mortar shells slammed into Somalia's capital Wednesday as insurgents vowed to intensify attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the latest violence in a country that already sees near-daily outbreaks of bloodshed.

The insurgents are trying to topple Somalia's government and drive out Ethiopian troops who are propping up the administration. Thousands of Somalis, mostly civilians, have been killed since Islamic fighters began an Iraq-style insurgency in December 2006 after being driven from power in Mogadishu and much of the south.

"If we die while fasting for the sake of Allah, we will go to heaven," a 26-year-old Islamic fighter, Abdi Yusuf, told The Associated Press by telephone. "So there is no reason why we shouldn't intensify the fighting."

During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex to focus on spiritual introspection. But the Islamists' spokesman Abdirahin Issa Adow said fighters have "decided to redouble attacks against the Ethiopians and their stooges during the holy month of Ramadan," which began this week.

He said the Ramadan attacks do not violate the Quran because his fighters are battling "enemies of Allah."

At least two people were killed early Wednesday, said Abdiqadir Hassan Hussein, a Mogadishu resident who witnessed some of the fighting and saw two people killed.

Somalia has been at war since 1991, when clan-based militias ousted a socialist dictator and then fought for power among themselves. The conflict is complicated by clan loyalties and the involvement of archenemies Eritrea and Ethiopia, who both back opposite sides in the fighting.

The last U.N. peacekeeping force in Somalia included American troops who arrived in 1992 and tried to arrest warlords and create a government. That experiment in nation-building ended in October 1993, when fighters shot down a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter during a battle that killed 18 American soldiers.

Since then, Ethiopian troops have helped Somalia's shaky transitional government push the Islamists from power in Mogadishu and much of the south, but failed to establish security or improve living standards.

Source: AP