More than 30 Somalis have been killed and some 20 others, including seven Kenyans, wounded in ethnic clashes in southern Somalia, near the border with Kenya, police confirmed in Nairobi Wednesday.

Kenyan police spokesman, Jaspher Ombati told Xinhua that fighting started on Monday night when some 200 fighters from a breakaway group from the Somali National Front (SNF) tried to retake the town of Bula Hawo from a rival faction.

Ombati said the Kenyan police have been deployed along the border with Somalia to prevent militiamen from crossing over, adding that hundreds of refugees have entered Garissa town of Kenya, but no camps had been set up to accommodate them.

The fighting comes barely a day after Kenya's ambassador to Somalia Mohammed Affey held a series of meetings with the leaders of warring clans living along the Kenya-Somalia border.

The SNF has been divided by a struggle over its leadership since 1996. This is the second time the clans have fought for control of the town. In April, eight people were killed and 12 wounded in clashes that ended after clan elders negotiated a cease-fire.

Source: Xinhua