Hiiraan Online
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
At least six people have been killed in a renewed fighting between rival Somali factions in the town of Beled-Hawo on Tuesday. Nearly a dozen people have also been wounded in the fighting.
The fighting erupted between the town’s Somali government administration and militia men loyal to the moderate Islamist group known here as Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a.
Tuesday’s deadly fighting comes several days after the town witnessed a fierce battle that engulfed the lives of more people mainly civilians. Both sides are battling for the control of the small town in the Gedo region.
Eye witnesses said that civilians have taken the brunt of the fighting which also destroyed several houses in the town when mortar fires rained on residential areas.
The regional governor Mohamed Abdi Kaliil has accused the Interim Jubba administration of being responsible for the organized attack on the town of Beled Hawo.
“The IJA authorities were responsible for the attack and they want to take control of Beled-Hawo” Gedo regional governor Mohamed Abdi Kaliil told the media later on the day.
But a spokesman for the moderate Islamist militia Sheik Mohamed Hussein Al-Qadi denied the accusation and instead blamed Somali Prime minister’s office for instigating violence in the region.
The latest reports from the region indicate that fighters belonging to the Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama have occupied some parts in the town, but sporadic fires have still been heard in and outside the town.
HOL English News Desk