Bartamaha(Nairobi):-At least 21 people were killed and 42 wounded in fighting in Somalia, a human rights group said Thursday.

Fighting between clans left 14 people dead and 24 injured in the village of Huldonyale in central Somalia, the Mogadishu-based Elman rights group said.

Government troops alongside African Union peacekeepers exchanged shells in Mogadishu with al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels, who are waging an Islamist insurgency against the Western-backed government. Seven people were killed and 18 wounded.

The clan fighting was believed to be a continuation of clashes over pasture and water.

“This clash has been recurring for months. It seems there is no sign of a cease-fire agreement between these two neighbouring clans,” Ali Yasin Gedi, the vice chairman of Elman, told Reuters.

Somalia has had no effective central government for 19 years and has become a safe haven for Islamist militants and clan fighters. More than 21,000 people have been killed in the violence since the start of 2007 and 1.5 million forced from their homes. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Ibrahim Mohamed; Editing by Giles Elgood).

Source: Reuters

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