MOGADISHU: A pro-government militia fought off rebels who tried to capture a central Somali town, with around 50 people killed in hours of intense fighting, residents and the group said on Sunday.
Bodies lay in the streets of the central town of Dusamareb after fighters from the hard-line Al-Shabab group launched a surprise attack at dawn on Saturday, they said.
“The town is quiet at the moment and the Shabab fighters have been defeated in violent fighting during the night,” the area’s traditional chief, Abdulahi Gedi, said. The Ahlu Sunna Wal Jammaa group, which is allied to the Somali government, had fought off the attack and was in control, he said.
“We have counted 47 dead bodies and one hundred injured,” Ali Yasin Gedi, vice chairman of Elman peace and human rights group said. “The death toll might be double that as residents are still collecting bodies from alleys and under the trees. The whole region is tense and residents are fleeing from other towns.”
A town resident agreed with Gedi’s assessment: “We have collected 77 dead bodies from inside and around Dusamareb town. We have reports that there are more dead bodies in the suburbs of the town. Yesterday afternoon’s fighting was very fierce,” local elder Hussein Aden said by phone.
Doctor Abdikarim Nurs said that 30 wounded civilians were admitted to his health center since Saturday.
“The fighting was the most violent ever seen in Dusamareb,” resident Hussein Moalim Mahad said. “The two sides fought each other for control of the town but eventually the Ahlu Sunna took the upper hand.”
A spokesman for the Ahlu Sunna militia, a moderate religious outfit that has taken up arms against more radical groups, also claimed victory.
