Clan Clashes Kill 30 in Central Somalia

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Clans fight over wells and land, killing 30

Calls from elders to begin traditional peaceful negotiations ignored

At least 30 people have been killed and 54 more were injured in heavy clan clashes over land and water in central Somalia.

The fighting between the Qubeys and Saleban clans erupted for a second time in the village of Baraga, 80 kilometers north of Haradheere.

"The casualties are gruesome and people died like goats," Abdullahi Muse, an elder in the village, told Tiziano by phone from the village.

The clans clashed over water wells and grasslands over the weekend and the two sides are sending more fighters for reinforcement during the current lull.

"The two sides paid no heed to the elders' calls for peace and halting hostility," Sheikh Mohamud Sabriye, another elder in the village, told Tiziano.

Somali clans usually fight over water wells, land, and animals but have a traditional means of compensating for lives lost in inter-clan disputes that usually discourages violence and encourages a peaceful settlement.

The clan responsible for the death pays the victim's clan a fine called a dia, which is a set number of camels or other livestock. A certain part of the dia, called a jiffo, is paid by the immediate relatives of the one responsible for the death to the immediate family of the person who has been killed.

Smaller dia payments are made for crimes of theft, rape, and adultery. Groups that pay dia are formed by closely-related clan members. Enforcement of dia customs is the responsibility of clan elders and the clan council. If a matter cannot be resolved peacefully, fighting breaks out between clans and is followed by another peace council.

Somalia has been without central government since1991, after clan militias and warlords overthrown the regime of Siad Barre, which led to constant violence for 20 years.

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