Ten people were killed today in fighting between the pro-government Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca group and hardline Islamist rebels in central Somalia, witnesses and sources on both sides said.
The fighting was the first since December 2008 when Ahlu Sunna, made up of Sufis, took control of Dusamareb town from al Shabaab militia after battles in which dozens of people were killed.
Residents said heavily armed al Shabaab fighters attacked Dusamareb, 560 km (350 miles) north of Mogadishu, in the early hours of the morning, pounding the eastern side of the town with mortars and prompting the ahlu Sunna to return machine gun fire.
"Most of the residents fled into the jungle. This fighting will obviously spread to other central towns," elder Osman Aden told Reuters news agency. "I have seen 10 dead people lying in the villages as I fled."
Somalia has had no effective central government for 19 years and the West's efforts to install one have been undermined by the insurgency led by al Shabaab, which Washington views as al Qaeda's proxy in the region.
Western security agencies say Somalia's appeal as a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists who are using it to plot attacks in the region and beyond, has grown over the years.
A senior al Shabaab official said on Friday the group was ready to send reinforcements to Yemen, should the United States carry out strikes against targets there.
Residents said the rebel group al Shabaab has been forcibly recruiting youths in readiness for an attack against government and moderate Islamists in central Somalia.
Reuters