KISMAYO, Somalia Apr 5 (Garowe Online) - At least four people were killed in southern Somalia as fighting raged between Islamist hardliners and a group of armed youngsters who resisted the Islamists' order, Radio Garowe reports.

The fighting erupted overnight Saturday and continued into Sunday morning near the farming town of Jamame, in Lower Jubba region, after armed youngsters rejected a ruling by Al Shabaab.

"The Al Shabaab group issued an order that weapons cannot be carried inside the town…I believe this is why the fighting started," said Omar Sahal, a resident of Jamame.

All the four dead victims and five wounded persons were fighters, local sources reported. Al Shabaab fighters were reportedly "in control" of the areas where the battle took place.

Al Shabaab officers in the region declined comment on the battle, but this development comes at a time local militias are increasingly challenging Al Shabaab's rule in the southern and central regions of Somalia.

Source: Garowe Online