Clashes in Somalia kill at least 14

January 10, 2010

53 minutes ago

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Clashes between pro-government forces and Islamist rebels on

Sunday over control of a town in central Somalia killed at least 14 people,

officials and elders said.

Government-allied forces claimed to have taken the town after the fighting.

Heavily armed pro-government Ahlu Sunna Wal Jammaa fighters and local clan

militants launched an offensive against the rebel-controlled town of Beledweyn,

some 400 kilometres (250 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.

The offensive led to the heavy exchange of machine gun and anti-aircraft fire.

" Getting help from Ahlu Sunna Wal Jammaa fighters, our forces clashed with the

enemy who controlled the city in the past several weeks, " Yusuf Ahmed Hagar, a

local clan militia commander, said by phone.

" We lost four men and killed more than 10 of them during the clashes. We

captured the town and the rebel militants fled. "

A rebel commander in the region contacted by AFP denied his forces were

defeated, but confirmed the clashes, saying more than 10 people were killed.

" The allied apostate militants attacked our bases in the city and we fought them

fiercely, " Sheik Hidig Mohamoud said.

" We are still controlling parts of the town and there are more than 10 people

killed so far. Most of the dead are apostate militants. "

Abdulahi Moalim Adan, a local elder, said the fighting divided the town and was

among the heaviest in recent weeks.

" The town is divided in two parts controlled by the two sides, " he said.

" The pro-government militants who attacked the city pushed the rebels back to

the west. I saw the dead bodies of eight people, most of them civilians and

friends told me there were several dead bodies outside the city. "

Local resident Abdurahman Ali said the Islamists took positions near the bridge

that divides the town and both sides exchanged gunfire.

Radical Somali Islamists, who have vowed to oust the government, have carried

out relentless attacks since May, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing

thousands of others.

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