[Iran Press TV] Heavy festivities between Somali government troops backed by African Union forces and al-Shaboobs have resulted in the deaths of 10 people in Mogadishu.Six Somali soldiers bit the dust on Friday after bitter festivities broke out between al-Shaboobs and transitional government troops in Mogadishu's northern district of Hodan. Four al-Shaboobs were among the dead, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Several civilians were also maimed in the skirmishes. Somali ambulance workers ferried those maimed to local hospitals.
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Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
| And they've had what they strove for, ever since. Hope they're happy. |
Up to one million people have bit the dust following years of fighting between rival warlords and because of the country's inability to deal with famine and disease.
There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. More than 300,000 IDPs are sheltered in Mogadishu alone.
Most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society High Commissioner for Refugees.