Thursday, November 04, 2010
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Mogadishu (AFP) - At least 15 people were killed in central Somalia when fighting erupted between two feuding clans over land issues, elders and witnesses said on Thursday.The incident took place on Wednesday near the village of Dhabad, located north of Mogadishu, about half way between the towns of Adado and Galkayo, near the Ethiopian border.
"There was an attack by a clan militia near Dhabad village yesterday. Fifteen people, most of them armed men, were killed," Nur Abdullahi, a traditional elder from a nearby town, told AFP by phone.
"The dead bodies have been collected and are being buried in Gellinsor this morning," he said.
Mohamed Taable, another local elder, explained that tensions had been rising between the two clans over grazing land.
"The two sides have fought several times in the area but this time we are hearing that more than 10 people from one of the sub-clans were killed and four others injured," he said.
Taable added that local elders were trying to mediate a truce.
Several local residents confirmed that at least 15 people were killed.
The fighting was not related to the broader conflict affecting the country and pitting an insurgency led by an al-Qaeda-inspired group against forces supporting the Western-backed transitional government.
Source: AFP