Somali fighters capture key town

Somali fighters have captured a strategically important town near the capital, Mogadishu.Witnesses said there were two hours of heavy fighting on Sunday before members of the al-Shabab group took Jowhar.The clashes 90km north of Mogadishu come as human rights workers say at least 68 people have been killed in fighting in the capital during the past 48 hours. Reporting from neighbouring Djibouti, said: "We can confirm the town of Jowhar has been captured by al-Shabab."In essence, the capture of Jowhar which was one of the last strongholds of the president, means the government is quickly losing ground in the battle for Somalia and it is also virtually surrounded by al-Shabab militias who have been strengthening and consolidating their hold."There have been many people who had been returning to the capital and now they are being forced to go back to where they came from."One resident told the Reuters news agency that there had been "serious fighting" in Jowhar in which at least seven people had been killed.