Fighting between rival islamists in Somalia leaves 12 dead

With Ethiopian troops well gearing up to leave Somalia, rival islamists start fighting for control. Reuters

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Twelve people were killed on Saturday when an Islamist group seized control of a central Somali trading town in a battle with hardline al Shabaab militants, residents said.

Al Shabaab, which means youth in Arabic, captured Gurael, 370 km (230 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu on December 6, after three days of fighting with a government-allied moderate Sunni Islamist group in the area.

Locals said the Sunni Islamist group ousted by al Shabaab three weeks ago had been regrouping and launched their attack on Saturday morning.

"I have counted 12 dead fighters lying in the alleys of Gurael," witness Ali Aden told Reuters. "Some of them were injured by a mortar that landed in the hospital. Others were hit by stray bullets," he added.

Al Shabaab, which is on Washington's list of foreign terrorist groups, and other more moderate rebel Islamist groups control all of the south and centre of Somalia except Mogadishu and Baidoa, the seat of parliament.

More than 10,000 civilians have been killed during the two-year insurgency, a million people uprooted and a third of the population need emergency aid in a humanitarian crisis that has been described as one of the worst in the world.