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SOMALIA: Armed group flees to Kenya
NAIROBI, 16 April (IRIN) - Fighting broke out this week around the southern Somali coastal town of Ras Kamboni, forcing an armed group to flee to Kenya on Friday, media sources told IRIN.
The fighting erupted in connection with the murder of
a US aid worker in the area last month. The sources
cited US officials as saying the clashes - between
the fundamentalist Islamic Al-Ittihad organisation
and a local Ogadeni sub-clan - followed attempts by
local elders to hold Al-Ittihad accountable for the
killing.
An unknown number of armed Al-Ittihad members were forced
to flee into Kenya on Friday, crossing at the border
town of Kolpio.
A senior Al-Ittihad representative from Mogadishu has reportedly been sent to the Gedo region to mediate.
Deena Umbarger, a consultant for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), was shot and killed on 20 March as she was taking tea with town elders. Witnesses told US officials that members of Al-Ittihad were responsible for the killing.
[ENDS]
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 18:08:07 +0300 (EAT) From: IRIN - Central and Eastern Africa <irin@ocha.unon.org> Subject: SOMALIA: Armed group flees to Kenya [19990417]
Editor: Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D
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