Postby DawladSade » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:29 pm
Kismayo: 12 killed as rival clans clash
Monday, April 23, 2007
MOGADISHU - At least 12 people have been killed and nine wounded when rival Somali clan members clashed in the southern port of Kismayo in a leadership dispute, residents said.
The fighting erupted after Marehan clan gunmen attacked their rivals from the Majerteen clan whom they suspected of stealing a car from a Marehan police officer in Kismayo, about 500 kilometres south of Mogadishu.
But residents said the two clans were at loggerheads over the governance of Kismayo.
The Marehan clan that has governed the town since 1999 has been demanding a greater say in the running of Kismayo after they lost control of the port town to the Majerteen clan early this year.
"At least four gunmen were killed and nine others were wounded in a battle near the residence of a top military commander," Abdi Mohamed Abdullahi, a militiaman, told AFP.
Doctors and residents said eight civilians were killed in the fighting, the heaviest in the township in recent months.
"We have received the bodies of three civilians and as heavy fighting continues we expect more casualties," a medical officer said on condition of anonymity.
"Three other civilians were killed after they were hit by stray bullets," said Hirsi Abdi, a resident.
Another resident Asha Mohamed said two bodies were also retrieved from the scene of the violence.
Mohamed Hassan, a police officer, confirmed the fighting.
Inter-clan fighting is common in Somalia since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre touched off a deadly power struggle that has defied numerous attempts to restore stability in the country.
More than 200 civilians have also been killed in the capital in six days of clashes between Ethiopian forces and Islamist insurgents, who are opposed to the presence of the foreign troops in the country.
Source: AFP, April 23, 2007
