... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy...
between Somali federal government and AL-Shabaab hard boyz broke out in Lower Shabelle province.
Eyewitnesses told Shabelle Media Network by phone that confrontation occurred at checkpoint patrolled by Somali federal government troops in highway links Afgoye to Walaweyn in lower Shabelle region.
Somali military Officials in Afgoye who contacted to Shabelle Media Network stated that Somali forces were ambushed by Al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
fighters and repulsed by government forces but declined to discover the casualty figures on their side.
Districts and residences in lower Shabelle region witnessed battles in the past days.