MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The town of Balad-hawo on Somalia’s border with Kenya is reeling from a day of ferocious gun battle that left more than a dozen people dead and at least 30 others wounded on Monday.
Businesses have reopened in the town on Tuesday, which is currently under the control of Somali army a day after fighting between federal troops and forces loyal to Jubaland administration occurred in the town on the border with Kenya.
Somalia accused Kenya of sending its troops and rebels it armed to the border launch an attack aimed to capture the town, but the government of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta has denied the claim, saying the fighting was between two Somali sides.
The clashes also impacted the town of Mandera on the other side of the border, where stray bullets and artillery fire have been raining down on residential areas.
A Kenyan MP from the town Bilow Kerow, speaking to BBC Somali Service, said the fighting severely impacted his constituents and added that many fled from Mandera as a result of confrontations in the neighboring Balad-hawo.
Nearly 20 people wounded during Monday’s fighting in Balad-hawo, including civilians, have been flown to the capital for medical treatment, local media has reported on Tuesday.
The patients are now being treated in Madina hospital in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
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