The United Nations humanitarian agency said Monday that violence in the central Somali town of Wisil Sunday has displaced thousands of people who have moved to neighboring towns.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the displaced have arrived in Xero Dhagaxley, Hobyo and Galkayo after scores of people including security forces were killed in the fighting between al-Shabab and Galmudug’s regional paramilitary forces (Darwish) in Wisil town, Hobyo district.
“OCHA Somalia urges parties to conflict in Somalia to respect and protect civilians,” the UN humanitarian agency said in its official twitter handle.
The move comes after Somali National Army (SNA) said that its forces killed 41 al-Shabab fighters during a foiled dawn attack and seized several weapons.
The SNA said three of its soldiers and five from Galmudug’s regional paramilitary forces (Darwish) were killed during the attack near a security camp in Wisil town.
The al-Qaida allied terror group was driven out of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, by Somali army and African Union forces in 2011 but the group still carries out several attacks in Mogadishu and rural areas in the central and southern region.
