Islamist rebels attacked Somalia's parliament as it met for the first time this year, in clashes which led to the deaths of at least 11 people.

伊斯兰教反叛者袭击了索马里议会，此次冲突造成至少11人死亡。

mortars² from a market and AU peacekeepers shelled back" width="226" height="170" src="/upimg/100517/4_063349_1.jpg" />
Rebels fired mortars from a market and AU peacekeepers shelled back

Insurgents³（叛乱分子） fired mortar¹（迫击炮） bombs at the building in Mogadishu, triggering retaliatory⁴（报复的） shellfire（炮火） from African Union peacekeepers.

There were rowdy（吵闹的，粗暴的） scenes in the chamber⁵ earlier as members voted to remove the speaker, who had criticised the PM.

The rebels have fought a three-year war against the fragile interim⁶（临时的，过渡的） government.

They launched Sunday's attack from their stronghold（要塞，大本营） in the capital's main market at Bakara.

'Treason'

A police official told news agency Reuters that some mortars had landed near the parliament, but there had been no direct hits.

More than 20 people were injured in the crossfire⁷ as AU soldiers guarding MPs fired back with artillery⁸（大炮，火炮） .

Parts of Bakara market caught fire and several shopkeepers were killed, according to reports.

Shortly beforehand, the parliamentary speaker, Sheikh Adan Madobe, urged Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to appoint a new prime minister.

MPs voted to sack the speaker and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke later accused him of treason.

Many Somali MPs live abroad because of safety fears; the chamber last convened⁹（集合，召唤） in December.

The Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning central government since 1991.