called frontline states bordering Somalia should contribute soldiers has caused further problems and delays to the planned African Union peacekeeping force. Militant Islamists and influential warlords have vowed to attack troops from Kenya, Djibouti and longstanding rival Ethiopia, if they are deployed. More than 18 people were killed and 32 others wounded when heavy clashes broke out on Saturday between the rival Garre and Merrehan clans in the Gedo region, close to the border with Kenya, residents and clansmen said. It was not immediately clear why they were fighting in a clash that illustrates the volatile instability of the Horn of Africa country. A spokesman for the Merrehan clan told local media on Sunday their militiamen, who were chased out of the area, would return with reinforcements.
