Seven soldiers and the driver of the vehicle they were traveling were killed while an eight soldier escaped the scene, according to eyewitnesses in Ceelbaraf who spoke to the media.
The soldiers who were killed had taken a holiday leave to visit their families in Hiiraan region, but tribal militias blocked their path and killed them at one location, except for one soldier who miraculously escaped.
Ceelbaraf where the incident took place is situated near the border between the Hiiraan and middle shabelle, an area that has been plagued with conflict for a long time.
The Hawadle and Abgaal clans have been fighting in that area, and the soldiers killed today are said to be from the Hawadle clan, while the militias who blocked their path are believed to be from the Abgaal clan.
The situation in the Ceelbaraf area is extremely tense tonight. Soldiers were from the Somali National Army and have been sent to the area earlier to fight against Alshabaab militias.
A similar incident occurred in the Ceelbaraf area a year when soldiers accompanying a civilian vehicle, who were part of the Somali military’s Danab, were killed. That incident had also caused similar shock among the reisdents of the area. The militias of the Hawadle and Abgaal clans are constantly engaged in clashes along the border between the two regions. Both local and federal goverment adminstrations have not yet found a solution to the conflicts.
MG
