The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 39 people were killed in recent inter-clan clashes in Somalia in the past two months.

The OCHA said land disputes were blamed for the conflicts, which left 35 dead in the Mudug region in central Somalia, with four others dead in Luuq in southern Somalia.

It added that more than 42,000 people, mostly women, children and the elderly were displaced by violence in Luuq early July, including 12,000 who fled to hard-to-reach locations outside the town.

Those newly displaced include communities that were already displaced by floods and now experiencing secondary displacement, the UN agency added.

OCHA said clan conflicts in the Mudug region from June 26 to July 2 forced more than 26,000 people to abandon their homes, about 30 per cent of them herders who managed to flee with their livestock.

It added that about 96,000 families were affected by recent armed conflicts and climate shocks in Galmudug State.

(Xinhua/NAN)