Somali rebel groups fight in southern port

Nothing better than hearing about Islamic militants Killing each other !

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Rival Islamist rebels battled in southern Somalia's Kismayu port Thursday, killing at least nine people and the fighting threatened to spread to other parts of the failed Horn of Africa state.

Witnesses said al Shabaab gunmen and their one-time allies from Hizbul Islam attacked each other at dawn. Hundreds of terrified civilians fled, while others cowered in their homes.

"The battle has started everywhere in the city. There are heavy exchanges of bullets and we can see militia taking part in the fighting," resident Deqo Ali told Reuters by telephone.

Abdi Hallane, another local man, said he could see the bodies of six dead gunmen lying outside his home. Abdullahi Ali, a nurse, said at least three other people had been killed.

"They are using heavy weapons everywhere," he said from the hospital, adding that at least 15 civilians were wounded.

The Kismayu confrontation had been brewing for days, and Hizbul Islam leaders had threatened to fight al Shabaab "everywhere" in Somalia if clashes began at the rebel-held port, which is a lucrative source of taxes and other income.

Security analysts say Somalia has become a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists, and Washington says al Shabaab is al Qaeda's proxy in the country.

Relations between al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam degenerated last week after al Shabaab named its own council to run Kismayu, excluding all Hizbul members. Until then, the two groups had run the port in an uneasy coalition.

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