Somaliland clashes leave dozens dead
Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:47AM
At least 26 people have been killed after troops from the self-declared republic of Somaliland launched an attack on local clan militia in the Buhodle district.
The conflict erupted on Tuesday as Somaliland forces based in the village of Kalshale in the Buhodle district opened fire on local clan militia called SSC (Sool, Sanaag, Cayn), a Press TV correspondent reported.
Fierce skirmishes broke out in the aftermath of the strike and heavy weapons -- including artillery -- were used in the fighting.
A total of eighteen people were killed and 22 others wounded. The clashes also claimed the lives of eight civilians and left ten others injured.
Somaliland, situated in northwestern Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Horn Africa country in 1991.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Somali government has struggled for years to restore security, but efforts have not yet yielded results in the lawless Horn of Africa nation.
Up to one million people have lost their lives following years of fighting between rival warlords and because of an inability to deal with famine and disease.
There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. More than 300,000 IDPs are sheltering in Mogadishu alone.
Most of the displaced live in squalid conditions at makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
MP/GHN/HRF
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