Somali Islamist factions clash
2009-10-21 14:29
Kismayo - Fierce battles erupted on Wednesday between rival Islamist rebel groups in the southern Somali town of Kismayo, shattering a tentative peace agreement, witnesses said.
The al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab militia and the more political Hezb al-Islam had announced a truce after clashing repeatedly over control of Kismayo since the beginning of the month.
The Shebab on Wednesday said Hezb al-Islam militants had attacked them in villages outside Kismayo, shattering the fragile truce between the erstwhile allies, who combined to launch an offensive against the internationally-backed transitional government in May.
"Our forces... came under attack, but we have repelled them (Hezb al-Islam fighters). They suffered a lot of casualties," Shebab commander in the region Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf told AFP by phone, but did not give details.
A Hezb al-Islam commander confirmed the clashes, but also declined to give details of casualties.
Fighting first erupted between the former allies on October 1 over control of Kismayo, some 500 kilometres south of the capital Mogadishu.
After wresting control of the town from government forces in last year, the two factions had agreed to share power, with each governing for six months alternately.
But the deal was soured by local clan infighting, and the rotation failed when the Shebab refused to relinquish the administration.
- SAPA