Somalia clan fighting ‘kills at least 55’

A violent clash over the weekend between two clans in central Somalia has killed at least 55 people and injured another 155, residents and medical officials said on Monday.

According to Reuters, Somalia’s federal government is not only struggling to contain violence unleashed by the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group, but also facing clan-based clashes over control of land and water in the Horn of Africa nation.

The clash between the Dir and Marihan clans, who fought alongside each other in the paramilitary group which ousted Al-Shabaab from Galmudug region, erupted on Saturday in the towns of Abudwaq and Herale over grazing land and watering points, said Farah Nur, a clan elder and resident of Herale.

“Government forces came late,” he explained. “Unfortunately, 55 people died, this includes both clans. It was easy to stop [the fight] but it didn’t happen. The situation got out of hand and spread like wildfire.”

Personnel from hospitals in Herale, Abudwaq and two other adjacent towns confirmed that they had attended to 115 people who were wounded in the fighting. Those who died were buried immediately, said residents.

“We believe that Al-Shabaab is indirectly behind this strange war,” said Ahmed Shire Falagle, a security adviser to the president of Galmudug state. “These are two brotherly clans that jointly used to defeat Al-Shabaab.” The fighting subsided following the arrival of federal government soldiers, he added.

“There is a ceasefire but the mood is not good,” said Sadia Hussein, a mother of four from Abudwaq. “A permanent ceasefire is needed.

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