Fresh fighting in Galkaayo as calls for peace hit a dead end

Galmudug and Puntland forces exchanged Saturday in a series of clashes which have hit the border town of Galkaayo as calls for cessation of hostilities hit a snag.

Goobjoog News correspondent in the town said the two sides exchanged fire Saturday afternoon in Garsoor village west of Galkaayo town but there are no immediate reports of casualties. Both Galmudug and Puntland states share Galkaayo town based on the new boundaries set out in 2014 following the formation of Galmudug state. But even before then Galkaayo has been a flash point for many years.

Calls by religious leaders last week and Galmudug senators on both states to stop the fighting seems to have fallen on deaf ears as forces from both sides slid into another vicious fighting Saturday.

At least 11 people and about 50,000 people have been displaced this month alone in what humanitarian agencies and the UN say is a humanitarian disaster unfolding.

A peace deal signed by the two regions last December collapsed and Galkaayo has been a scene of incessant fighting.