MOGADISHU – Fighting in Somalia between a pro-government militia and hardline Islamist rebels killed at least 16 people and injured 34 others in the central Galgadud region on Thursday, a rights group said. "More people were forced to flee ... This is a violation of civilians' rights," Ali Yasin Gedi, vice chairman of Mogadishu's Elman Peace and Human Rights Organisation, told reporters. Residents said the clashes took place in the central towns of Warhole and Owsweyne and pitted Ahlul-Sunna Wal-jamaa militia against an alliance of Hizbul Islam and al-Shabab insurgents. Washington has said al-Shabab is al-Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, which has lacked a central government for the last 19 years. Both Hizbul Islam and al-Shabab want to impose a harsh version of Sharia law on the chaotic country. Bashir Khayre, a resident of Warhole, told reporters that three injured civilians had died of their wounds as fleeing neighbours tried to carry them to safety in another town. "Fighting has now paused, but it is sure to restart because the two groups are not far from each other. The death toll may rise because some injured people ran into the forest," he said. Djibouti said yesterday it planned to send 450 soldiers to Somalia possibly next month to boost the African Union (AU) peace mission that is protecting the fragile Western-backed government. Uganda and Burundi each have 2,500 peacekeepers in Mogadishu with the AU's AMISOM force in Mogadishu. Its soldiers come under near-daily attacks from roadside bombs and rebel artillery. The force is struggling to raise its numbers beyond the 5,000 troops. "We are preparing our troops. We are training them so that they can carry out their mission in a very efficient way," Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf told reporters on the sidelines of an African Union foreign ministers' meeting. Youssouf said he hoped his country's contribution would inspire others to do the same. "Somalia is a neighbouring country. We have a very close relationship. We can see what is going on there and we have to contribute as Africans," he added.
