MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Heavy fighting between members of Somalia’s police and military erupted in the capital Mogadishu on Thursday morning, as wrangling between the country’s President and Prime Minister heats up.
Residents in the neighborhoods of Tarabunka and Banadir in Mogadishu described hearing heavy burst of gunfire during a busy morning rush hour and stray bullets struck residential areas.
Several people are feared to have died in the gunfight, though exact death toll has not been immediately clear and many more wounded.
The commander of Turkish-trained police special unit Abdihamid Abdullahi Fanah and several other police and military officers are among the wounded, according to local media.
It has not been immediately clear if the fighting was linked to the current political crisis and tensions between the Horn of Africa country’s leaders, but a local official told Somaliguardian that the flare-up was over a land dispute.
At least one soldier died and a number of others wounded after fighting between troops within the government took place near Liido Beach in the city on Wednesday night.
More than 11 people were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a tea shop popular with soldiers near the heavily fortified Halane base camp, which is home to several foreign diplomatic missions. Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
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