Seven people were killed and at least 20 others wounded when two subclans fought in the central Somalia region of Mudug, a local elder told AFP Wednesday.
The fighting, pitting the Sa'ad subclan of the larger Haber Gedir group against the Omar Mohamud, a sub-group of the Majarten clan, took place in the outskirts of Balebusle town late on Tuesday, the elder, who was contacted through field radio and asked not to be named, said.
The violence is believed to have been sparked by a dispute over grazing fields and claims of camel rustling.
The fighting had eased by early Wednesday, but Balebusle town remained tense.
The two groups had lived peacefully since 1993 when they signed an agreement to coexist.
Somalia has lacked an effective central government since the fall of President Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.
The intervening years have seen the collapse of most infrastructures as various clan-based warlords battled for control of territory and resources -- MOGADISHU (AFP)
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