60,000 Somalis flee fresh fighting

Sixty-thousand civilians in Somalia have fled their homes over the past week as fresh fighting between Islamist insurgents and a government-allied militia claimed the lives of at least 10 people, the UN refugee agency said Tuesday.

Fierce clashes in the southeastern border town of Beled-Hawa have forced thousands to seek refuge in nearby villages, with some crossing into neighboring Kenya in search of safety, said a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. At least 5,000 people - mostly women, children and elderly - are squatting directly at the border in a makeshift camp without shelter or toilets, said Andrej Mahecic. (AP)