Somaliland clashes leave 40 dead

Forty people were killed and 50 others wounded as Somaliland troops attacked local clan members in the disputed village of Kalshale, located in the province of Sool.

Fierce skirmishes broke out in the aftermath and heavy weapons -- including artillery -- were used in the fighting, which was concentrated around Kalshale.

Somaliland, situated in northwestern Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Horn Africa country in 1991.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

The Somali government has struggled for years to restore security, but efforts have not yet yielded results in the Horn of Africa nation.

Up to one million people have lost their lives following years of fighting between rival warlords and because of an inability to deal with famine and disease.

There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. More than 300,000 IDPs are sheltering in Mogadishu alone.

Most of the displaced live in squalid conditions at makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.