Somalia: Clashes claim dozens in south Somalia

(SomaliNet) Clashes between al-Shabaab fighters and Marehan clan-members have left dozens dead or injured in Kismayu in Somalia\'s Jubbada Hoose region.

A Press TV correspondent reported that there was no immediate report of casualties on al-Shabaab fighters\' side. At least nine Marehan militants were killed and 23 others were injured during Wednesday\'s fighting.

Hundreds of civilians fled the area in Kismayu, some 500 km (300 miles) south Mogadishu, once the clashes erupted.

The Marehan are a clan who mostly reside in Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions in southwest Somalia. In July, former Defense Minister Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale\'s militia joined in Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabelle) the clan.

The clan captured Kismayu after defeating the government forces in January 2006. Al-Shabaab fighters, affiliated to the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), took control of the port city of Kismayu following 12 hours of fight in September 2006.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords toppled Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. In 2006, US-backed Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia to assist the transitional government and overthrew the Union of Islamic Courts.-Press TV