At least 20 people were killed when clashes broke out between security forces and a militia group in Somalia, a local government official said on Friday.
The fighting began late Thursday in the town of Dhusamareb, in Galgadud region, and lasted until Friday afternoon, regional government spokesman Osman Isse Nur Tardhuled told DPA.
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Among the dead were 15 fighters of the Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a, a paramilitary group formed to protect Sufi Muslims in the East African nation, as well as an army commander and four civilians, Nur Tardhuled said.
Residents told DPA that the town had been hit by mortar shells and that guns had been fired for many hours.
The reason for the clashes remained unknown on Friday.