At least 12 killed in fresh Somali violence

MOGADISHU—At least 12 people have been killed and dozens wounded as Somali Islamic fighters seized a key town north of the capital after heavy clashes with a US-backed warlord alliance, witnesses said.
Heavily-armed Islamic fighters fought their rivals from the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) before taking control of Balad township around 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Mogadishu. Medical workers told newsmen Sunday that the 12, mostly militiamen, who were killed in Balad and the nearby village of Basra, brought the death toll from clashes to 31 over the past four days.
“The counted dead bodies were found in the town and there were other (casualty) figures from small clinics,” said Yusuf Hagaley, a medical worker in the town. Witnesses said ARPCT commanders fled to the town of Jowhar, about 60 kilometers to the north.
With control of Balad, the Islamists have weakened the warlords allaince that has controlled the shattered African nation since the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Since the war erupted in February, at least 244 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured, many of them civilians. Somalia has been without a functioning central authority since 1991 and its largely powerless transitional government has blamed the alliance and the United States for the current fighting, the bloodiest for 15 years. Agencies Add: Islamic court militia seized a strategic town outside Mogadishu on Sunday, dislodging a member of the anti-terrorism warlord coalition in fierce fighting that left 12 people dead, officials and residents said.
The town of Balad, 30 km (19 miles) north of Mogadishu, fell to the Islamic courts after two hours of intense battle. “Balad is in our hands. The enemy has escaped from the town,” said Islamic courts militia leader Moallim Hashi Mohamed, whose forces have been fighting those of warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow. There was no immediate comment from Muse Sudi side, but witnesses reported seeing his forces heading toward Jowhar town. Residents who emerged after the clash counted bodies. “I saw seven bodies lying on the ground inside the town,” said one resident.—Agencies