29 Jan 2006 18:28:13 GMT

NAIROBI, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Five people were killed in fighting on Sunday between two Somali sub-clans over control of land where trees are burnt for charcoal for export, a militia grouping said.

The fighting north of Somalia's port city of Kismayo was the latest in a series of clashes that have killed dozens in Somalia, which has been without a functioning government since 1991 and is run by various clan-based militias.

The two sub-clans clashed in the village of Bula Haji 85 km (53 miles) north of Kismayo, said Bile Abdulle, spokesman for the Jubba Valley Alliance, a loose militia grouping which controls the port.

"So far five have been killed and ten wounded," he told Reuters by phone. "We are trying to reconcile the two warring sub-clans. Talks are under way and we hope to end the conflict between them as soon as possible."

Charcoal burning is a growing business in Somalia. The fuel is exported via Kismayo, in southern Somalia, mainly to Arab countries.

Fighting among Somalia's myriad clans and sub-clans has been common since warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre 14 years ago and took over the nation of about 10 million.

Two weeks ago, three days of clashes between rival factions for control of Kismayo killed 14 people, hospital sources and residents said.

Hopes of an end to such violence were raised this month when President Abdullahi Yusuf and parliamentary speaker Sharfi Hassan Sheikh Adan agreed to end a rift that has undermined the transitional government since it arrived from Kenya in mid-2005.

Source: Reuters, Jan. 26, 2006