Turkish aid worker wounded in Somalia fight between clans

MOGADISHU - Anatolia News Agency

A Turkish aid worker was wounded in a firefight between rival clans in Somalia on Oct. 2, a Turkish aid agency has said.

A worker with the Turkish international development aid agency TİKA was wounded while travelling with a group of Somali lawmakers monitoring aid distribution in the central city of Galkayo, capital of the Mudug region 750 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Mustafa Haşim Polat was rushed to a nearby hospital in Galkayo. TİKA runs a wide array of development projects in Somalia.

The southern part of Galkayo is administered by Galmudug, an autonomous region of central Somalia, while the Puntland State controls the northern part of the city.

Relations between the two regions are tense, as Puntland claims that South Galkayo harbors militants who fight against North Galkayo and supplies the fighters in North Galkayo with “safe refuge, medical assistance and ammunition.”