- Title: Fighting in Somalia's Galkayo city kills 29
- Date: 7th November 2016
- Summary: GALKAYO, SOMALIA (NOVEMBER 7, 2016) (REUTERS) MILITIAS HIDING IN DEFENSIVE (AUDIO OF GUNFIRE) ARMED SOLDIER HIDING BEHIND A SHRUB FIRING TOWARDS MILITIAS VARIOUS OF ARMED SOLDIER RUNNING WITH LAUNCHER, COWERING BEHIND A SHRUB SOLDIER STANDING AND SHOOTING ANOTHER SOLDIER HIDING IN BUSH MORE OF GUNFIGHT VARIOUS OF DEFENSIVE POSITION IN FRONT OF BUILDING SMOKE RISING FROM COMPOUND VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS FIRING TOWARD COMPOUND MILITARY VEHICLE FIRING SOLDIER WALKING TOWARDS FRONTLINE WHILE ANOTHER IS HIDING TRUCK DRIVING TOWARDS FRONTLINE GROUP OF SOLDIERS STANDING ON TRUCK ON STREET, PREPARING TO JOIN THE FIGHTING
- Embargoed: 22nd November 2016 15:18
- Keywords: Somalia Galkayo Puntland Galmudug fighting ceasefire
- Location: GALKAYO, SOMALIA
- City: GALKAYO, SOMALIA
- Country: Somalia
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA00157G4SAV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Clashes in Puntland and Galmudug regions in central Somalia led to killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 50, officials from both sides said on Monday (November 7).
A week-old ceasefire between the forces of two semi-autonomous regions of Somalia broke down on Sunday (November 6) as fighting over a disputed border area erupted again. Each region blames the other for starting the fighting.
Galmudug and Puntland are clashing in the town of Galkayo, which straddles their common border and is divided under the control of rival clan militias.
Col. Mohamed Aden, a Puntland military officer, said 16 soldiers serving in the region's armed forces had been killed and 30 wounded.
The mayor of southern Galkayo, Hirsi Yusuf Barre, said the toll on the Galmudug side was 13 dead and 20 wounded.
Doctors at hospitals in north and south Galkayo, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, put the overall death toll at least 50.
As violence between these groups began to escalate a month ago, schools in Galkayo were forced to close and some people fled the town.
Both militias offer political support to Somalia's U.N.-backed government, based in the capital Mogadishu. But the clashes between them underscore the tenuous grip it exerts on Somalia's powerful regions.
Civil war has been raging in Somalia for 25 years. The country has been gripped by conflict since the downfall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in early 1990s, and Islamist militant group Al Shabaab has been one of the main causes of unrest in the last two decades. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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