Heavy fighting on Somalia border with Kenya

MOGADISHU: Heavy fighting broke out Monday in a Somali border town between government forces and supporters of a fugitive minister hiding out in Kenya, according to witnesses and a lawmaker.

The state security minister from Somalia´s semi-autonomous Jubaland state, Abdirashid Hassan Abdinur, was arrested in August last year, but escaped from prison in Mogadishu in January and fled across the border.

Amnesty International last month urged Kenya to hand him over to face justice, over allegations of torture and human rights abuses. While the situation was unclear at the remote border, witnesses told AFP that Somali government troops were battling fighters loyal to Abdinur in the town of Bulohawo, which is near the Kenyan town of Mandera.

"The fighting was very heavy and both sides exchanged machine gun and anti-aircraft weapon fire. We don´t have details so far but it was so fierce that it had affected the border town of Kenya," Abdiasiz Malabow, an elder from a nearby village said. "The fighting started after days-long standoff between the two sides, and most people fled from the area," he added.

Another witness Mohamed Nure confirmed there was heavy fighting in the area. "We cannot know the exact details as everybody is taking shelter currently," he said.

On the Kenyan side in the town of Mandera, lawmaker Mohamud Maalim said the nearby fighting had forced locals to flee and seen schools shut. "It is all about fugitives held by the KDF (Kenya Defence Force) who were given refuge and we are appealing to President (Uhuru) Kenyatta to tell KDF to hand over the fugitives to Somalia," he said.