Somali violence leaves 16 dead

 Somali government solders
Mogadishu - Sixteen Somalis, mainly fighters, were killed on Tuesday in clashes between rival factions near two strategic cities in central Somalia, officials and community elders said.The deadliest fighting broke out on the outskirts of Dhusamareb, a contested area near the Ethiopia border which has recently been controlled by the pro-government Sufi militia Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa.Ahlu Sunna fighters and Islamist insurgents from the al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab movement fought with machine guns, mortar shells and anti-aircraft weapons for several hours."Our forces intercepted Shebab militants who tried to raid villages in the region. Many of their bodies are still strewn across the battlefield," Sheikh Abdullahi Abu Yusuf Alqadi, a local Ahlu Suuna spokesperson, told reporters.They ran away and our fighters are still chasing them," he added.Elders said Tuesday's clashes were the heaviest in months in the area."Shebab and Ahlu Sunna fighters clashed in Marergur village mostly and the dead bodies of 10 people, mainly combatants, have been counted in the area," Abdullahi Husein, a local elder, told reporters by phone."The clashes erupted in the morning but intensified in the afternoon after Ahlu Sunna fighters found reinforcements," Abdirahman Lulaawe, a resident from a nearby village, said."The number of people could be higher than 10 because there is no access to the contested areas yet," he explained.Meanwhile, six other people died in a separate clash between Somali government forces and insurgents from the Hezb Al-Islam group in a village outside Beledweyn, another town further south along the Ethiopian border.Fidow Ali Wardher, a Beledweyn resident, told reporters by phone that government forces attacked Hezb al-Islam forces in the Berhano area, sparking a fight that left six dead, including two civilians."We don't know who controls the ground now but the fighting has stopped this evening," he said.

Other residents gave the same death toll.

Somali government officials confirmed that deadly fighting took place but declined to give more details.
"There was fighting involving our forces in the Beledweyn area and there are deaths but we have no more information so far," Colonel Mohamed Ali, a government security officer, told reporters.Beledweyn, districts of which have changed hands several times over the past year, and Dhusamareb are key trade gateways to Ethiopia.The Shebab and their Hezb al-Islam allies control most of southern and central Somalia. Government forces backed by African Union troops hold small parts of Mogadishu, while Ahlu Sunna also has a few strongholds in the centre. - Sapa-AFP