Friday, October 22, 2010
The clashes in Bulohawo erupted late Thursday and pitted fighters from the Shebab rebel group against a pro-government clan militia led by a local warlord and recently trained by Ethiopian forces.
"The fighting stopped late last night and we fully control the city now," said Moalim Muse Ahmed, a senior commander with the pro-government militia.
"We killed many of our enemies and their dead bodies are in the streets," he added.
According to residents, the fighting resumed on Friday morning.
"The fighting was the heaviest ever in the town and at least 16 people, most of them fighters, were killed," Abdirahman Abikar, an elder, told AFP by phone.
"There was heavy shelling from the pro-government side when the fighting resumed early this morning and the town is now under the control of Somali forces," he said.
Witnesses said the fighting claimed some civilians lives too.
"We are collecting the dead bodies this morning, five members from one family who were killed after an artillery fire hit their house are among the casualties," Yahya Mohamed, a local resident, said.
"The death toll could climb above 20 because there are still many dead bodies lying in the streets of the town, from which most of the residents have fled by now," he added.
Source: AFP