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| Africa Horn |
| 20 killed in inter-clan festivities in central Somalia |
| 2010-03-14 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] Clashes between rival clans have left at least 20 people dead in the Mudug region of central Somalia, where sub-clans of the Hawiye tribe are battling over water and land. The fighting occurred late on Saturday as militiamen armed with heavy machine guns engaged in a deadly exchange of fire, killing up to 20 people, mostly combatants. Ten fighters were also wounded in the clashes. "The heaviest fighting occurred near Jildhere village and there are bodies still strewn in the streets and forests close to the village," AFP quoted a Hawiye elder as saying. "Their argument is all about water and land for their livestock. The matter looks to have gotten out of hand now," said another. The clans engaged in violent confrontations after tribe members residing in Ba'ad Weyn and Amara town, northeast of Galgadud's provincial capital of Dhusamareb, disputed over an animal watering point. Mediation efforts failed on Saturday, and the clans are reportedly preparing for yet another battle. A report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said more than 100,000 people have been displaced in the country since the beginning of the year, with clashes in Mogadishu accounting for 33,000 of the refugees. The UNHCR also expressed concern for an estimated 8,300 internally displaced people. "We are especially concerned about the safety and well-being of some 8,300 people who, without any means to get out of Mogadishu, remain displaced within the capital," UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told journalists in Geneva. "As the fighting rages on, aid agencies cannot access and assist these extremely vulnerable IDPs [internally displaced people]," he added. Despite President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's efforts to bring long-feuding Somali factions together, parts of the capital and large areas in the south of the country remain under the rebels' rule. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Oh Oh. More IDP's. They'll turn up in Lewiston, ME before long. Riding the gravy train. |
| Posted by: aidincguy 2010-03-14 19:59 |