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By Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia said on Thursday it had pulled federal troops out of the southwestern Lower Juba region, after clashes with local forces from Jubbaland state which has broken off ties with the central government.
Heavy fighting broke out around the coastal town of Ras Kamboni on Wednesday, where hundreds of federal soldiers had been flown in after Jubbaland re-elected its president, Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe in a vote last month.
Jubbaland, which borders Kenya and Ethiopia, is one of Somalia's semi-autonomous states. It comprises three regions, of which Lower Juba is the most populous.
The state suspended relations with the federal government last month in a dispute over the election, which Mogadishu had said was illegal. Jubbaland officials say their forces defeated the detachment of federal troops in Ras Kamboni on Wednesday.
"To avoid bloodshed between our forces, the Somali Government orders the withdrawal of National Security Forces from Lower Juba, prioritising the safety of our soldiers," the central government said a statement posted on X by the Somali National News Agency (SONNA).
It said its forces' focus would solely be on combating Islamist insurgents and "safeguarding the nation's sovereignty".
Jubbaland officials say their regional fighters captured Ras Kamboni town and the nearby airport, and many federal government troops surrendered after Wednesday's fighting.
"We are sorry about what happened. It was an illegal war by federal government," Adan Ahmed Haji, assistant security minister of Jubbaland, told a news conference on Thursday.
The national government in Mogadishu, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, had tried to stop the November vote from taking place, saying it was being held without federal involvement.
As the dispute escalated, the federal government issued an arrest warrant for Madobe, while Jubbaland issued a reciprocal one for Mohamud.
Mogadishu had said its troops had been sent to Ras Kamboni to take over bases from African Union peacekeeping forces whose mandate ends at the end of the year.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Peter Graff)
