JOWHAR, Somalia Nov 14 (Garowe Online) - Militiamen loyal to Somalia's Islamic Courts Union (ICU) battled each other in the southern town of Jowhar, underscoring lingering divisions within the movement.

Sheikh Dahir Addow Alasow, the ICU chief in Middle Shabelle region, told reporters Friday in the provincial capital Jowhar that the fighting was "accidental."

"The deputy commander of Jowhar police station is one of the two dead victims," Sheikh Alasow said.

He indicated that the warring groups are both loyal to the ICU militia and were "hunting for criminals" responsible for killing civilians along the Middle Shabelle-to-Hiran road earlier this week. Full story

Independent reports obtained by Garowe Online reveal deeper divisions within the ICU administration in Jowhar.

Some unconfirmed reports said the ICU deputy security commander in Jowhar was "killed on purpose" by militia loyal to Sheikh Yusuf Turhume, who claims to be the ICU-appointed governor of Middle Shabelle.

An unidentified official who spoke on behalf of Sheikh Turhume told Mogadishu press that Sheikh Alasow's militia are controlling the region "by force."

The ICU captured most of south-central Somalia in 2006 but was routed out by Ethiopian-backed Somali government forces later that year.

The Somali Islamist movement has since splintered into rival factions and is mainly responsible for a bloody two-year insurgency targeting government and foreign troops.

Source: Garowe Online