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Al-Shabaab and ally Hizbul Islam in early May launched a major push to oust Sheikh Sharif, who came to power earlier this year in a UN-backed peace process. Reports said that at least 10 people had died in fighting near the town of Webho in central Somalia. Ahlu Sunna Waljamea on Thursday pledged to defend Sheikh Sharif, who vowed to fight to the death against hardline Islamist militants. The insurgents say Sheikh Sharif is too close to the West and refuse to stop fighting until the AU peacekeeping force of 4,300 soldiers from Burundi and Uganda leaves.
Hundreds have died and many more have been injured during weeks of heavy clashes in Mogadishu. The UN refugee agency UNHCR says that 96,000 people have fled the clashes.
UNHCR said that the number of people crossing into neighbouring Kenya had risen to 200 per day, from an average of 100. Kenya hosts the Dadaab refugee camp - the largest in the world - where over 270,000 Somalis have sought shelter from 18 years of conflict. The insurgency has claimed the lives of over 17,000 people, mainly civilians, since early 2007 and coupled with a prolonged drought has left over 3 million Somalis dependent on food aid. Somalia has been embroiled in chaos since.Collapse of the somali nation 1991
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