At least 23 people been killed in Somalia in clan-related violence caused by a land dispute, said Somali officials and clan elders.
The clashes between armed militia from two groups broke out around the villages of Burdhinle and Hada-Ogle, situated in central Somalia’s Hiiran region and close to the border with Ethiopia.
“The fighting was heavy and the clan militias used armed vehicles. Twenty-three are so far confirmed dead but the toll could be higher,” local elder Osman Ahmed told the international news agency AFP, via telephone from the region.
Another elder, Abdule Muhamed, said both sides were heavily armed and that fighting was still continuing.
Fighting between the Dir and Hawadle clans started late last year but had been stopped after the Somali national army and African Union peacekeepers from Djibouti intervened.
