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Weekend clashes in Merka over arms shipment

    NAIROBI
    Fighting broke out between rival factions of the Habar Gidir clan in the southern port of Merka over the weekend for control of the heavy weaponry, allegedly sent by Eritrea, which was brought into the port last Tuesday. Witnesses quoted by AP news agency on Monday said the fighting broke out on Saturday night and Sunday morning between militiamen loyal to faction leader Hussein Aideed and a group led by the governor of Merka, Mahdi Mohamed Jumale, because Aideed would not share the weapons. There has no subsequent news of a force of 500 to 700 Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) fighters or Eritrean army officers and officials reported to have landed when the ship docked. Eritrea has denied that it shipped either arms or troops to the Somali port.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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