9,000 displaced in Somalia violence

Nairobi, May 26 (IANS) At least 9,200 people have been displaced in a fierce battle raging between the coalition forces and the insurgents near the Somali capital, the UN refugee agency said here Saturday.

The fighting erupted in Afgooye, a stronghold of the Al-Shabaab insurgent group, some 30 km from Mogadishu. People have fled to Mogadishu, Lower Shabelle and Lower Juba regions to avoid the fighting, the UNHCR said.

Africa Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia said that its forces and the Somali Army have secured all major roads leading in and out of Afgooye town, Xinhua reported.