21 Aug 2009
Clashes between Somali gunmen and government soldiers has left over 55 people dead and over 60 others injured in the Horn of Africa country.

The heavy exchange of fire broke out in Mogadishu's northern districts of Hawlwadag, Hodan and Wardhigley on Thursday.

Mogadishu medics said they assisted more than 30 wounded civilians in the battlefield, where some 15 people were killed, a Press TV correspondent reported.

At the same time, fierce fighting erupted in the central town of Bulabarde in the Hiran region, about 210 km (130 miles) north of the capital, where government soldiers attacked the town, controlled by al-Shabaab fighters.

About 40 people, most of them fighters from both sides, were killed in Bulabarde while scores of others were injured.

A resident told Press TV that government forces retreated hours after the gun battle erupted.

"The government forces attacked the town on Thursday but met with strong resistance from al-Shabaab fighters who battled out with attackers until they returned the control of the town," said Muhumed Ahmed, a Bulabarde resident.

Reports say that the al-Shabaab fighters have also captured the western wing of Beledweyne town, the capital of the Hiran region, some 332 km (206 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu.

The strategic town connects the capital to the central region and neighboring Ethiopia.