Clashes In Somaliland; Kenyan Offensive Continues In South

Clashes In Somaliland; Kenyan Offensive Continues In South

Eurasia Review

Somaliland's army bombed the city of Buhodle, in the Ayn region, where heavy artillery fighting has been underway for two days. 

According to local radios, the government of Puntland defined the offensive against the city, key commercial area along the border between the two self-proclaimed independent regions, a "brutal aggression".

Residents of the city report a toll of at least 7 dead and 15 injured in the fighting between soldiers and a rebel group active in the area.

From southern Somalia, reports instead indicate the killing of seven commanders of the al Shebab insurgent group by Kenyan troops. According to a Kenyan army spokesman, Major Emmanuel Chirchir, the attack occurred in the Tatar area, north of Hayo, in which Nairobi's troops destroyed an operations base and two armoured vehicles of the insurgent group.

Kenyan troops are stepping up pressure on the al Shebab over the past days with repeated air strikes. An air raid yesterday in Afmadow left nine dead.

Clarifications are still however attended on a Kenyan air strike in Jilib, a town in the south, where residents accuse Nairobi's air force of hitting a civilian home killing seven people, including 5 children.