Ten people have been killed and at
least 20 others injured in inter-clan fighting over land in Somalia's
central town of Galkayo
in the Mudug region, sources told IRIN on 18 March.
The fighting broke out on 17 March
between the Sa'ad, Habar Gedir sub-clan and the Dir, and was concentrated
near the Galkayo airport and nearby south Galkayo settlements, a
journalist, Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed, of Daljir radio, said.
The clash was triggered by a land
dispute, but the ensuing escalation of violence was attributed to a
long-simmering rivalry between the clans, said a local businessman.
"A few years ago over 80 people
were killed when the two sides fought over water points and pasture,"
he added
Mudug region governor Dahir Abdulkadir
Aflow said forces from the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland,
known as Darawishta, had been dispatched to intervene.
"We have forces that are now
separating the two sides," Aflow said, and a mediation team was trying
to resolve the dispute.
He said there was no fighting
"going on today [18 March] ... We are waiting for elders from both
sides to meet today to hammer out their differences under the auspices of
the regional administration."
Sheikh Shuuriye of the Dir clan said
the fighting started unexpectedly, "but we are doing everything we can
to contain it".
He said he was confident the mediation
efforts would produce a lasting solution.
The fighting took place near a camp for
internally displaced
persons (IDPs).
Mohamed of Daljir Radio said many of
the IDPs in the Buulo Ba'aley camp had fled due to the fighting. He said
some of the injured were being treated at Galkayo General Hospital.
Intensive mediation efforts on the part
of the local administration, elders and religious leaders from neutral
clans seem to have calmed the situation.
"We have been able to bring the
two sides together to start talking," said Aflow. "I am confident
that we will end this today."
[ This report does not necessarily
reflect the views of the United
Nations ]
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