(SomaliNet) At least 10 people mostly militia have been killed and dozens more were wounded in heavy clashes erupted in the provisional town of Baidoa between government militia and local militia on Friday. As Somalinet correspondent reports. "The clashes has flared up at around 12:00 am local time and it lasted for one hour with both rival sides exchanged heavy machine-guns and other sorts of weapons, the residents have terrified the sounds of gunfire" witnesses told Somalinet office in Mogadishu.
The cause of the latest skirmishes came after presidential guards of the government ordered local militia to leave a checkpoint near to the presidential palace and they gave objection to that order where then militia from Manas military camp near Baidoa has taken away a rifle from the road blockers. Local official said.
The local militia who set up the checkpoint launched an attack on guards at presidential building where they met a strong resistance.
The chief of the local clan whose men were involving in the battle Chief Samow Abdi Garun was confirmed to have died in clashes as he was trying to prevent his militia from the assault.
An official from local militia admitted that five of dead people were their militia but on the government side, no one knows about their casualty yet.
The fighting has stopped as both officials from both rivals are trying to negotiate about what happened in peaceful means.
The business in the town was closed during the clashes with people shocked at the gunfire and think about the new tension between government and local militia.
It is the third clashes in Baidoa town within months since the government relocation in February 2006.
Baidoa became the temporarily capital for the Somali government after it finishes its long internal conflict and split.
The transitional federal government, which relocated in Baidoa, some 250 km of the capital of Somalia after it shifted from Jowhar, a town controlled by Mohamed Dhere, has thousands troops mostly from Puntland state in Bakol region and also in camps neat to Baidoa.
The presence of the Puntland militia in the region and the latest clashes might worsen the situation of the fragile government and create insecurity in the region if it is not achieved sustainable solution.
Mohamed Abdi Farah