Fierce fighting between Somali government forces and Islamist rebels near the Ethiopian border Wednesday killed at least 14 people, mostly combatants, witnesses said.
Government troops attacked Shebab insurgents in the southwestern Islamist stronghold of Rabdhure, sparking heavy exchanges. A Shebab commander, Sheikh Hassan Derow, told AFP the government forces had attacked his group's positions on the outskirts of the town before they were driven back. "We killed many of them and seized one of their vehicles and burned another," he said. One Shebab fighter was killed, he said.
A government official in a nearby town confirmed the clashes but did not give any casualty figure.
Residents said they saw several bodies after the fighting subsided. "I saw 11 bodies in one area and two in another. Most of the bodies I saw were of the government forces," said one resident, Mohamed Alin Yusuf.