This archive report was first published on 26 October 2021.
At least 120 people have died and 600 were injured in the past three days in Somalia's Galmudug state, where the Somali army is battling its former ally, the Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a militia.
The clashes erupted on Saturday and continued until Monday in the central state's second-largest district of Guriceel, displacing at least 100,000 people, according to the United Nations.
ASWJ, a group of moderate Sufi Muslims, has been at the forefront in the fight against Al Shabaab, but the group now accuses the federal government of failing to end the insurgency and worsening security in Galmudug state.
The government, however, accuses ASWJ of operating without its consent, a claim the armed group has not denied.
The fighting between the two groups broke out in February 2020, when several people were killed after soldiers attacked a house where ASWJ leaders had gathered.
Earlier this month, federal forces made a preemptive attack on ASWJ, but the group fought back, capturing Guriceel and being welcomed by residents.
Galmudug state security minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi resigned earlier this month, accusing federal officials of refusing his calls not to attack ASWJ.
