By Aweys Osman Yusuf

More than 16 people were killed and dozens more were wounded in the port city of Kismayu, 500 km south of the capital Mogadishu, Monday after a heavy gun battle between rival clans, Majegten and Marehan, took place in the town. Shabelle reporter in Kismayu, Mohammed Ahmed, said the fighting stopped around 2:00 PM local time as the town fell into the hands of Marehan militias.

The rival clans fighting in Kismayu have long been challenging over the leadership of the town since contingents of Ethiopian troops deserted the town in mid February.

Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohammed Gedi, who held a press conference in the capital Monday pointed out that the fighting in Kismayu, was organized in Mogadishu. “The fighting in Kismayu was orchestrated by the terrorists in Mogadishu and the current fighting in the capital and the other hostilities that took place between Puntland and Somaliland were also linked to terrorism organized by the terrorists based in Mogadishu,” he said.

The fighting comes as the deadliest battle rages in the capital for the fifth straight day. More than 400 people, most of them civilians who were caught between the cross-fire of the rocket explosions, are believed to have died, while more than 1,000 were wounded, according to hospital sources.

Witnesses told Shabelle that government troops that hail form the rival clan Marehan, took off their military dresses and joined the militias that took control of the port town near the Kenyan border.

Shabelle Media Network Somalia
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