From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Aug 21 2009 - 17:46:55 EDT
55 killed in Somalia as govt. attempt to regain town fails
Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:14:30 GMT
Clashes between Somali gunmen and government soldiers has left over 55
people dead and over 60 others injured in the Horn of Africa country.
The heavy exchange of fire broke out in Mogadishu's northern districts of
Hawlwadag, Hodan and Wardhigley on Thursday.
Mogadishu medics said they assisted more than 30 wounded civilians in the
battlefield, where some 15 people were killed, a Press TV correspondent
reported.
At the same time, fierce fighting erupted in the central town of Bulabarde
in the Hiran region, about 210 km (130 miles) north of the capital, where
government soldiers attacked the town, controlled by al-Shabaab fighters.
About 40 people, most of them fighters from both sides, were killed in
Bulabarde while scores of others were injured.
A resident told Press TV that government forces retreated hours after the
gun battle erupted.
"The government forces attacked the town on Thursday but met with strong
resistance from al-Shabaab fighters who battled out with attackers until
they returned the control of the town," said Muhumed Ahmed, a Bulabarde
resident.
Reports say that the al-Shabaab fighters have also captured the western wing
of Beledweyne town, the capital of the Hiran region, some 332 km (206 miles)
north of the capital Mogadishu.
The strategic town connects the capital to the central region and
neighboring Ethiopia.
HSH/SME/MMN
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