At least 20 people were killed and dozens wounded in heavy fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, in late February when African Union peacekeeper forces attacked an extensive underground fortification system of trenches and tunnels used by Islamist insurgents. The African Union’s official mission is to protect Somalia’s weak transitional government. Shabab, one of the biggest insurgent groups, are among those that rule large sections of southern Somalia and clan militias loosely control the rest. Some of the mortar shells hit camps of the internally displaced people who had been living in bubble-shaped shelters made of twigs and plastic sheets after their homes had been destroyed.

Please pray: that the insurgents will be weakened and overthrown; that Somalia will have peace and an ability to rebuild; for the government to take increased control of the country, and for Somali Christians to find favor with the new government.