Twelve people were killed Monday in central Somalia as government soldiers and local militias fought over two truckloads of weapons illegally brought over the border from Ethiopia.
Two soldiers are among the dead in the clash inside the village of Shiilamaow, about 20 kilometers northwest of Abudwak town, close to the Ethiopian border, said a Somali security official who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media.
The Internal Security Ministry said government security forces had seized the weapons from "illegal weapons traders” and were escorting them when armed militias erected a checkpoint and intercepted the weapons. The local militias overpowered government forces after receiving reinforcements from clansmen, the official added.
The Somali government did not disclose the quantity of the weapons but the security official told VOA Somali that the weapons were two truckloads and included DshK and PKM machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, pistols and ammunition.
The government appealed to local residents and elders for help in returning the weapons to government hands.
In December of last year, the United Nations Security Council fully lifted a weapons embargo on Somalia, which had been in place since 1992. The Somali government has been attempting to reassert control of the country from armed militias and al-Shabab militants.
An Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a VOA request for comment.
