A Hizbul Islam gunman is seen behind a heavy machine gun as he heads for Somalia's southern port of Kismayo on October 1.

03 Oct 2009
A senior Hizbul Islam member has been killed by unknown gunmen in the town of Hiiran, making Hizbul Islam fighters launch a house-to-house search for the killers.

At least six armed men gunned down Sheikh Aden Abdi, a top Hizbul Islam commander in the town of Hiiran on Friday, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The wife of and children of the slain fighter, who witnessed the crime said the gunmen came inside the house disguised as Hizbul Islam members. They said they had thought that the gunmen were his guards.

Meanwhile, Hizbul Islam has vowed retaliatory action against al-Shabaab fighters if the latter do not refrain from "killing Hizbul Islam commanders and do not vacate the town of Kismayo".

Hizbul Islam has given al-Shabaab a seven-day deadline to pull out of Kismayo.

According to the UN refugee agency, the number of civilian casualties is rising because of the latest upsurge in fighting in the troubled South Central region of Somalia. The UNHCR says the renewed fighting is sparking a new wave of displacement.

According to local humanitarian organizations in Somalia, in September alone, 145 people were killed and another 285 injured during heavy clashes in Kismayo, Beled Weyne and the capital, Mogadishu.

presstv