Inter-clan fighting leaves 40 dead, hundreds displaced

About 40 people have been killed and 60 wounded in inter-clan fighting in the Mudug region of central Somalia, sources in the regional capital Galkayo told IRIN on Wednesday.

The fighting was concentrated in and around the village of Afbarwaqo, some 200 km east of Galkayo, but has now died down.

According to a local elder, Muhammad Salad Du'ale, the fighting - which broke out two weeks ago - occurred between the Sa'd sub-clan of the main Habar Gedir clan, and the Dir clan. It was sparked off by revenge killings for the deaths of eight fishermen near Afbarwaqo, but the ensuing escalation of the violence was also attributable to the scarcity of water and grazing in the area, Du'ale said.

He said neutral elders from Galkayo had managed to secure a ceasefire on Monday to allow for mediation to take place and to stop the fighting from spreading to other villages.

"There has been no fighting in the last couple of days," Sheko Harir, a Dir elder, told IRIN from Galkayo. "The elders have met and talked to both sides, and direct talks between the belligerents are expected to begin soon."

The violence has reportedly displaced hundreds of families, who have sought refuge in areas where "there is not a single well or water point", Sheko Harir said. "Those are the ones who need immediate help."