Hiiraan Online
Saturday July 22, 2017
Harale, Galgadud, Somalia. FILE PHOTO
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Somali President has condemned the latest outbreak of fighting in central Somalia and called for an immediate ceasefire.
At least 20 people were killed and 40 others seriously injured in the ongoing fighting in Harale, a town in the central region of Galgadud. The injured were transported to hospitals in Dhusamareb and Abudwaq.
Residents report that the fighting began after Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama clashed with local militia.
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has called for an immediate end to the “ugly and unfortunate" fighting in an official statement from Villa Somalia.
“My government is ready to take any measures to end the hostility and will send a fact-finding team to Harale, to investigate the cause of the inter-clan clashes,” said Farmajo.
While sending his condolences, Farmajo said that the government will push for an immediate intervention and will support mediation between the two factions. He also promised that a fact-finding committee will be dispatched to the area to carry out an investigation.
Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa has frequently clashed with local militia and government soldiers from the Galgadud area in the past. In March 2015, the Somali government signed a truce with the paramilitary group to end a bloody conflict in central Somalia.