Mogadishu(Mogadishu24)-At least five civilians of a single family were killed and 12 others injured after heavy fighting between the Somali National Army and Al-Shabaab militants at an area close to Bariire town in lower Shabelle region, about 60 kilometers south of the capital Mogadishu Tuesday.

According to medical sources, 12 of the victims were hospitalized in one of the hospitals in Mogadishu’s Hodan district, adding that there could be other hospitals received such wounded people from the region.

Mogadishu 24 could not verify if those civilians were killed in an airstrike operation after the militants’ attack on SNA base in Bariiri town, or mortar rounds that hit into their residences so far.

” I was at my farm when the incident was happening, then I received terrible phone call from one of my neighbor and told the mess that all my family member were dead or injured after a missile hit them. I ran to the scene and it was true. I lost four of my children and my sister-in-law on spot while my mother, father and wife have serious injuries”, Ibrahim Sidow told local TV station in Mogadishu.

He requested from the Federal Government of Somalia to support him as he could not even afford the medial bills.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense of Somalia, Abukar Moallim said that Somali National Army’s special forces, ‘Gor-gor Unit’ inflicted heavy casualties on Al-Shabaab militants after fighting at Sham-gare about 16 Km to Barire town in region yesterday. Abukar confirmed there were casualties on SNA sides, describing them as martyred ones, but he did not mention casualties in number in both SNA and Al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab claimed to have killed two senior SNA commanders which were trained by Turkey during the fighting between the two sides. The group also said the airstrike caused the casualties on the civilians there.

According to Amnesty International, 23 civilians were killed and 17 others injured in Bagdad village near Afgoye district in the same region in March this year. It said that the incident happened during Somali military operations supported by Turkish drones must be investigated as war crimes.

“The Somali and Turkish governments must investigate these deadly strikes as a war crime, and put an end to reckless attacks on civilians,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.