Clashes break out in Somali city

MOGADISHU - At least seven people were killed and several more injured on Friday after fighting broke out between rival militias in the southern Domali port city of Kismayu, residents said.

The fighting erupted between militia fighters loyal to two rival leaders in the city. "The shootout broke out in the city and seven people got killed and several others were injured in the fire exchanges between the militias," Ali Hirsi, a resident in Kismayu, told Xinhua.

A number of rival presidents were declared by various groups for the leadership of regional state not recognized by the federal government.

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud expressed sadness at the fighting in Kismayu.

In a statement from the president's spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman said the Somali leader called for a cessation of the hostility.

Somali government is organizing dialogue for rival leaders in the port city of Kismayu over the formation of a regional state for three southern provinces of Gedo, Lower Juba and Middle Juba.

A reconciliation conference in Mogadishu was recommended during the last summit of the head of states and governments of the regional body. The Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last month.