MOGADISHU, July 19, 2007 (AFP) - Heavy fighting in Mogadishu killed two people and wounded several others ahead of the resumption of key talks aimed at brokering a durable peace among feuding Somali factions, witnesses said Thursday.

Insurgents fired mortar and rocket shells into army positions in the volatile Bakara market overnight, touching off fierce clashes, they said.

"A civilian and a government army officer were killed in fighting that erupted after insurgents attacked forces guarding the market," said Abdullahi Muhamoud Galgal, a trader.

"The army responded heavily, but continued to open fire even after the insurgents fled the area," said resident Abdullahi Yassin.

Yassin said the artillery duels "left several wounded in the market," where at least 13 have been killed in daily explosions and gun battles since Monday.

Also overnight, gunmen fired at the former defence ministry headquarters, where Ethiopian forces are based, but fled immediately after the troops responded.

"The attack on the former defence ministry offices was very brief," said said Khalid Osman, a southern Mogadishu resident.

The latest fighting occured as delegates prepared to resume talks Thursday aimed at brokering lasting stability in the country that has been ruined by bloody power struggles sparked by the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

The international-backed reconciliation conference was adjourned shortly after it opened on Sunday as a barrage of mortars landed as President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was giving a speech.

But organisers said the parley was adjourned to allow all of the invited 1,325 delegates to assemble at the venue, a heavily-fortified police warehouse in northern Mogadishu.

In a bid to boost security, Somali army units cordoned off Bakara and its surroundings, barring motorists from entering into market and frisking civilians.

"The market's main entrance has been sealed off and motorists have been ordered to drop passengers a distance where everybody and all vehicles are searched," according to Ahmed warsame, a resident.

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