Deadly clashes in Somalia between police and government troops

Heavy fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu between government troops and local police has killed at least thirteen people and injured another fourteen.

The clashes began yesterday in the Hamarjajab district when a dispute started between the police and army. Abdullahi Mo'alim Kerow, a police officer, described the incident to Reuters; "[t]he clashes came after some of the government troops started to rob a civilian car and the police were trying to stop it. We have collected bodies of nine government troops [...] and three unidentified civilians."

However, conflicting accounts claim it was police attempting to hijack trucks carrying food aid, and the army were intervening to prevent the theft.

According to Kerow, the injured were hospitalised, and the clash stopped shortly after. Ten of the wounded were civilians, and one later died, said Alie Muse Abdi, coordinator of ambulance services in the capital.