At least 23 people have been killed in clashes between two clans in central Somalia, local officials and witnesses say.
“Twenty three are so far confirmed dead but the toll could be higher,” AFP quoted a local elder as saying on Thursday.
Somali government officials confirmed that hostilities over land ownership triggered the deadly violence between the Dir and Hawadle clans around the villages of Burdhinle and Hada-Ogle, in central Hiiran region and close to the border with Ethiopia.
“We hope the brotherly clans will end their hostility through mediation and not bloodshed as is happening now,” a Somali local government official said.
However, according to witnesses, fighting is still continuing between the armed members.
“There are efforts to mediate between the sides, and the elders are about to go and solve it,” he added.
Fighting between the Dir and Hawadle clans started late last year but was later halted by the intervention of the Somali national army and African Union peacekeepers from Djibouti.
Somalis are organized into clan groupings, which are important social units. Sporadic clashes between them usually revolve around water, pasture and politics.
HJM/HJL
