Fresh fighting in Middle Shabelle

Fighting has again broken out around the village of Raghe-Eil, some 95 km northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, in the Middle Shabelle region of south-central Somalia, local sources said.

The fighting was between the two Abgal subclans of Muhammad Muse and Warsangeli, sources told IRIN. It reportedly started after forces loyal to the self-styled "governor" of Middle Shabelle, Muhammad Umar Habeeb, alias Muhammad Dhere, a Warsangeli, captured the village of Raghe-Eil, a Muhammad Muse stronghold, on 29 May.

At least six people were killed in the latest battle, which was fought in the village of Meraley over the weekend, a local journalist told IRIN. Ahmadey Shaykh Hasan, a leader of the Muhammad Muse, told IRIN that a convoy he was travelling in was attacked by militia of Muhammad Dhere in Meraley, 15 km east of Raghe-Eil.

"I was ambushed by Muhammad Dhere and we defended ourselves," Ahmadey said. According to him, the Muhammad Dhere militia lost two battle-wagons.

However, a source close to Dhere denied that their group initiated this round of fighting. "Our positions were attacked by forces of Muse Sudi [Yalahow - a Mogadishu-based faction leader]," the source said.

Dhere himself told the local press that Muse Sudi had attacked him and "will have to bear the responsibility for the consequences", according to the local journalist.

Ahmadey denied that his group had received any support from Muse Sudi and said the claim was an attempt by Dhere to spread the war into other localities.

Ahmadey claimed that his forces were 10 km east and 12 km south of Jowhar, the region's capital, in an attempt "to box in" Dhere's forces. "We have to go the source of the problem, and that is Jowhar, his main HQ. This is the only way we can stop him from terrorising our villages," he said.

The recent fighting has been condemned by the EC delegation in Kenya as a violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed by the parties at the ongoing Somali peace talks in Kenya.

In a statement on Friday, the EC said it "notes with dismay the recent violence in the Middle Shabelle Region, where some 23 people, mostly innocent civilians and including school children, were killed".

There was a lull in fighting on Monday, but according to the local journalist this did not mean that the fighting was over, as both sides were reportedly "reinforcing their positions and bringing in more militia to the area", and that Dhere might expand the war zone in order to take the pressure off Johar.

"The likelihood of the fighting spreading to other parts is real. It would not surprise me if it spilled over into Mogadishu in the next couple of days," the journalist said.