18 killed as battle rages in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Monday

Fighting killed at least 18 people on Monday in two towns in central Somalia where rebels battled a pro-government militia and each other, according to witnesses.

The Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca militia, which is aligned with President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s weak UN-backed administration, struck at Hizbul Islam insurgents in Baladwayne on Sunday and residents said clashes between the two sides resumed on Monday.

Separately, Hizbul Islam fighters battled in Dhobley with members of another guerrilla group, al Shabaab, which Washington says is al Qaeda’s proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state. Fighting has claimed the lives of more than 21,000 Somalis and driven 1.5 million from their homes since the start of 2007.

The rebels want to extend their area of control from the south towards the pro-government, northeastern region of Puntland. Mr Ahmed’s government controls little more than the sea port, the airport and his palace in Mogadishu.

Residents in Baladwayne said both sides were exchanging heavy machine gun fire in the streets on Monday, and a Somali human rights group said the death toll of 13 was likely to rise.

“Both groups carried away their casualties. We do not know how many fighters died,” Ali Yasin Gedi, vice chairman of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation, told Reuters.

Separately, witnesses said at least five people were killed on Monday as Hizbul Islam and al Shabaab rebels fought each other in Dhobley town, further west near the border with Kenya. Hizbul Islam and al Shabaab both want to impose a harsh version of sharia across the country.