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2021-10-24 Africa Horn
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At least 12 people were killed in central Somalia as pro-government forces recaptured a strategic town from Sufi militants
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[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
At least 12 people were killed on Saturday in central Somalia as pro-government forces recaptured a strategic town from Sufi murderous Moslems seeking greater regional control, security officials and witnesses said.
Fighters loyal to Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa (ASWJ)
| ...a moderate Muslim Sufi paramilitary supported by Ethiopia that’s been fighting jihadi groups since the early 1990s. Al Shabaab is only their most recent opponent. From time to time ASWJ and the Somali National Army take opposite sides in local political disagreements... |
were driven out of Guricel by national forces and paramilitaries in Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
, a region that has long faced an armed struggle by the Sufi militia.
"We have so far confirmed that 12 people, four of them civilians, were killed during heavy fighting in Guricel this morning," Mohammed Bile, a military commander in Galmudug, told AFP by phone.
"That toll could rise, but the situation is now calm and government forces are in control of most neighborhoods."
ASWJ fighters occupied Guricel earlier this month, taking control of Galmudug's second-largest town after a brief skirmish with local forces.
The Sufi group has controlled many of the major cities in Galmudug over the past decade, and efforts to broker a military and political settlement to their feud with regional authorities have not succeeded.
Galmudug information minister Ahmed Shire blamed ASWJ for provoking the latest festivities.
"Government forces kept their positions for a month, and called on the invading parties to vacate the town peacefully, to avoid armed confrontation and inflicting civilian casualties," he told news hounds.
"Unfortunately, they attacked military bases belonging to government forces, who fiercely repelled their advance. The government has taken back control of their positions, and driven the remnants of the militia into the bush."
Witnesses reported seeing casualties on both sides.
"There is still sporadic gunfire in pockets of town, but I can see military vehicles belonging to the national government in the streets," said Abdirahman Ali, a local resident.
The Sufi group's recent military advances in Galmudug coincide with upper house elections in the region, which is the last of Somalia's five federal member states to complete the long-overdue process.
Elections in Somalia follow a complex indirect model, whereby state legislatures and clan delegates pick politicians for the upper and lower houses of parliament, who in turn choose the president.
The presidential election is nearly a year overdue, the process dogged by political infighting at the highest level of government, and feuds between Mogadishu and some states. 
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Posted by Fred 2021-10-24 00:00||
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Posted by Bertie Crains2651 2021-10-24 09:24||
2021-10-24 09:24||
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Posted by Besoeker 2021-10-24 09:59||
2021-10-24 09:59||
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Posted by trailing wife 2021-10-24 13:40||
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Posted by Bertie Crains2651 2021-10-24 20:18||
2021-10-24 20:18||
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