Violence in Somalia over a property dispute kills 8 in divided central town

Violence in Somalia over land dispute kills 8

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Witnesses in Somalia say fighting spurred by a land dispute has killed eight people.

Witnesses say they saw the bodies of seven people in the street in the central town of Galkayo after shells were lobbed into residential areas.

Sahara Dahir, a nurse, says an eighth person died of wounds at a hospital. Eleven others were wounded.

Galkayo is split into two different administrative regions, and there is a long-simmering rivalry between the two administrations.

Somalia has been ravaged by violence since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. A moderate Islamist was elected president in January amid hopes he could unite the country’s feuding factions, but the violence has continued.