Fighting in central Somalia has killed at least 138 people and displaced 63,000 others in the last two weeks, a rights group said Friday. Hizbul Islam and its rival, Al–Shabaab – branded by Washington as an Al-Qaeda proxy in the region – want to impose a strict version of Shariah law in the Horn of Africa nation that has had no functional central government since 1991. Their fighters and those of government-allied Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca have been involved ain clashes for control of three towns in central Somalia. “At least 138 people died and 344 others were injured in the last two weeks' fighting in central Somalia,” Ali Yasin Gedi, the vice chairman of the Elman human rights group, told Reuters. “The recent fighting between Ahlu Sunna, and Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam on one side has also displaced 63,000 people from Galgadud and Hiiraan regions.” Ahlu Sunna, which is aligned to President Sheikh Shari Ahmed's weak UN-backed administration, advocates a more moderate version of Islam.
