Several killed in gun battle in Somali capital

Several people have reportedly been killed in a gun battle in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The battle followed an attack on the residence of the country’s Interior Minister, Dahir Dayah, by a warlord opposed to the country’s transitional government.

Hundreds of gunmen loyal to Mohamed Dhereh launched the attack on Dayah’s home and police loyal to the government have now been deployed to protect the minister.

Dhereh, who is from the same Abgal sub-clan as Dayah, was a legislator in the transitional administration, but he defected a year ago to an alliance of Ethiopian-backed faction leaders known as the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council.