Fighting between pro-government militiamen and al-Shabaab insurgents in southern Somalia killed at least 12 people on Thursday, witnesses said.
Western security agencies say Somalia, which has been torn by civil war for the past 18 years, has become a haven for militants plotting attacks in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
Earlier this week, militia supporting President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s fragile administration chased al-Shabaab fighters out of the southern town of Bulahawa without firing at shot.
On Thursday al-Shabaab returned with reinforcements.
”The fighting is worst outside the town … 12 people have been killed and eight wounded,” local nurse Abdiraxman Ali said by telephone. ”The dead are from both sides, and civilians.”
The United States accuses al-Shabaab of being al-Qaeda’s proxy in the chaotic Horn of Africa nation.
Meanwhile, another rebel group, Hizbul Islam, retook control of Luuq town, which is also in Gedo region. They had abandoned it on Wednesday to a pro-government militia.
Residents said there was no fighting in Luuq.
The international community is trying to bolster Ahmed’s United Nations-backed government, which controls only parts of the central region and small pockets of the coastal capital Mogadishu.
On Wednesday, Somali lawmakers declared a state of emergency while the government battles the rebels. The move means Ahmed can make major decisions without having to consult Parliament.
Violence in Somalia has killed more than 18 000 civilians since the start of 2007 and uprooted another one million. — Reuters