Early on Thursday, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebel group entered the village of Fadhigaradle in central Somalia and killed five members of the Sufi militia Ahlu Sunnah wal Jamaah (ASWJ) and escaped, residents confirmed to Somalia Report.

“They came the village of Fadhigaradle at mid night and killed five men who belonged to the ASWJ militia,” said Sahal Qase, a resident of Fadhigaradle. “We think the ONLF are taking revenge on ASWJ because of conflicts between them,” he added. Sahal told Somalia Report that the ONLF usually cross the border late at night and attack villages in Galguduud province.

“We are aware of what ONLF are doing in our villages, they believe our forces are busy facing TFG and al-Shabaab, but we have enough power to fight against them as well,” said Hassan Abdi Olad, an ASWJ chairman in Abudwak. “We pray that Allah forgives our dead brothers and rewards them with His paradise. We will take revenge, just as they do, soon,” he added.

The ONLF are a nomadic ethnic Somali rebel group fighting for the independence of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, while the ASWJ are supported by the Government of Ethiopia. In November, the ASWJ arrested 30 ONLF members and handed them over to the Ethiopian Government, an incident seen as the catalyst for today's attack.

ONLF militants were not available for comment, due to the lack of communications infrastructure in eastern Ethiopia.

The attack was not the only trial faced by ASWJ this week, which has been subjected to repeated assaults by al-Shabaab, in its quest to wrest control of Galguduud from the Sufi group. Hours after the ONLF attack, Shabaab militants launched an assault on Bulucle village in the Dhuusamareeb district of Galguduud, resulting in four killed and several others injured.

The ASWJ are now beset on both sides by al-Shabaab and ONLF forces. Furthermore, relations with the TFG, a critical source of arms and training for the Sufi milita, have soured in recent weeks.

The defeat of ASWJ, which has been critical in counterbalancing al-Shabaab's advance, would have dire consequences for the already precarious stability of Somalia.

Update - 10 ONLF Fighters Captured By ASWJ Near Border

At least 10 ONLF fighters were detained by ASWJ militia on Thursday night in Lasanod village in the Galgadud region, near the border of Somalia and Ethiopia, ASWJ officials told Somalia Report.

"Our troops captured 20 ONLF fighters. They were planning another attack but fortunately, our troops managed to capture them and we will take action against them. We will not kill them as they did to us, rather they will face trial," Ahmed Ilkacase, deputy mayor of Gur-El, told Somalia Report. "If ONLF believe they can enter the villages under our control and do whatever they want, our forces are always alert," he added.

At least 6 people, among them fighters, were killed and more than 10 others wounded late on Friday when the ASWJ forces fought with the Ethiopian rebel group Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in Lasanod village of central Somalia, ASWJ officials said on Saturday.

The clashes started on Thursday when a group of armed ONLF fighters came face-to-face with ASWJ troops. The fighting went on for almost an hour, officials said.

“Any time they cross the border they carry out brutal attacks and torture the residents accusing them of spying for ASWJ and Ethiopia government," Sheikh Abdihakim Lugey, an officials with the ASWJ in Balanbale town told Somalia Report.

Residents said the rebels have recently been terrorizing Somali locals living near the border with Ethiopia.

“Although there are so many challenges that we are facing from both TFG and al-Shabaab in the region, we are happy that our brave forces killed 4 ONLF militia and we will continue hunting down the ONLF rebel group," he added.

ASWJ officials warned the people living in the villages near the border with Ethiopia to be wary of the intruders.

It is not the first time that the ASWJ and ONLF militia have engaged in fighting in central Somalia. Over the recent past, the Ethiopian rebel group has been crossing the border into Somalia eliciting reprisal attacks from the ASWJ forces.

At least eight people were killed and more than ten others were injured in midnight fighting between Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) fighters and Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (ASWJ) militia which erupted in the village of Fadhigaradle, in the Galgadud region of central Somalia, according to ASWJ officlas and resdients.

Sheikh Abdiweli Farah, an ASWJ official in Balanbale, told Somalia Report, "Our forces engaged with ONLF forces, and with God's grace, we forced them to retreat and go back to their bases in the jungle. We are increasing security in the villages and deploying more forces," he added.

ONLF militia have been crossing over the border from Ethiopia into the Galgugud region in Somalia over recent weeks and attacking villages belonging to the ASWJ. ONLF fighters are angered by the ASWJ's closeness to the Ethiopian regime, from which they are seeking independence.

Sheikh Abdiweli told Somalia Report that ASWJ forces killed five ONLF militia and injured six others, while he claimed ASWJ had lost three dead and four injured. He also said that the injured were immediately taken to Balanbale for treatment.

Suudi Abdullahi Fadhigaradle, a resident of Fadhigaradle, told Somalia Report, “The fighting went on for almost two hours and both sides were using heavy guns, but finally the ONLF were overcome and they returned to Ethiopia, where they came from. Whenever they cross into Somalia, they brutalize and torture the residents, they indiscriminately fire on civilians and take food and water forcibly. If the skirmishes continue and ASWJ forces do not restore the peace of the villages near the border of Somalia and Ethiopia, we believe the fighting will spread in the region," added Suudi.

ONLF officials were not availabe for comment. The ONLF represent ethnically Somali pastoral people living in the Ogaden region within Ethiopia, who seek independence from the Ethiopian regime, and resent the tacit support of ASWJ by allowing Ethiopian troops into the area, as part of the fight against al-Shabaab.

UPDATE: The militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility over grenade attacks that rocked the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office.

At least two people, among them an elderly woman, were wounded when a series of grenade blasts ripped through a United Nations office in Mogadishu, Somali officials and eyewitnesses said on Sunday.

The militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility over the attacks. According to witnesses, unidentified gunmen lobbed five grenades on the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) offices in the bullet-ridden Somali capital late on Saturday.

The offices are located at Bulo Hubey village in Wadajir district within the Somali capital.

“We thank Allah who made it easier for our Mujahidin to attack with grenades the Christian agency called the UN and we swear that we will continue targeting their offices," said Sheikh Al Nucman Alhudeyami, an al-Shabaab official.

The UN agency has not commented about the incident.

But the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) Deputy Chairman of Wadajir district Hussein Bootaan confirmed the attacks and accused the militant group al-Shabaab.

“There were no more casualties. We condemn the al-Shabaab for carrying out the attacks," he told Somalia Report, adding that security operations have since been beefed up to counter further attacks.

This is the latest in a string of blasts, including roadside bombs and grenade attacks, to hit the Somali capital in recent months.

“I was in the area when the explosions took place but I ran away. I saw a woman who was injured admitted at Madina Hospital. A young man was also injured when the security forces fired in response to the attacks,” Bile Abdi, a local resident in Wadajir told Somalia Report.

This will be the third grenade attack targeting the UNDP office in Mogadishu in less than 30 days. Two more attacks were reported earlier this month.

"There was a big explosion in the area. Then I heard several other explosions followed by gunfire," one of the witnesses told Somalia Report.

Earlier this month, unidentified gunmen attacked the main UN compound in the Somali capital.

The United Nations relocated its political office for Somalia to Mogadishu from Nairobi early this month after 17 years of its absence. The office is located in one of the most highly guarded streets in Mogadishu, connecting the presidential palace and main airport.

The militant group al-Shabaab has warned civilians against visiting the new offices.

A roadside bomb targeted Kenyan soldiers patrolling the streets in the northeastern Kenyan town of Mandera, near a bus station in the city center, but no casualties have yet been officially confirmed.

“I saw two Kenyan soldiers laying on the ground, but I do not know whether they were dead or injured," said Hassan Abdulle, a Mandera resident, who spoke to Somalia Report.

''After the explosion, there was smoke all over the place and I couldn't see anything. Later I saw a soldier's car smoking, but I did not see any casualties," said another eyewitness.

Kenyan police immediately began investigations after the explosion and arrested 20 people, some of whom are still under police custody while others have been released.

Police have limited free movement in Mandera and are patrolling the streets, according to Mr. Abdulle.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement issued by the militant group, in retaliation for Kenya's invasion into southern Somalia in October of last year.

Mandera is a Kenyan border town, near Somalia's Belad Hawo, which had been under the control of al-Shabaab for several years.