At least Ten people were killed and dozens of others wounded in fighting that erupted over a tax dispute between al-Shabab and armed residents in Somalia's central state of Galmudug.

According to ceoafrica, the clashes started on Monday after al-Shabab members, who control the port town of Harardhere, tried to impose taxes on its residents, in which security forces also reportedly backed the locals in clashes with the fighters in Dumaaye village and other areas near Harardhere.

A media platform quoted resident Ahmed Mohamed as saying ten people, including six fighters and four residents, were killed in the fighting in which village elders surrender weapons to al-Shabab to save lives

Moreover, Osman Isse Nur, a regional security minister, reported thirty deaths, which include twenty-six al-Shabab fighters as Harardhere's inhabitants, who are already struggling economically after losing livestock in the current drought, dismissed the demand for taxes, leading to quarrel between the two sides.

Moreso, senior officials said locals took up arms against al-Shabab fighters who wanted to loot their resources, including livestock which prompted villagers to ambush al-Shabab members travelling near Harardhere on Monday afternoon, thereby destroying one armoured vehicle.

More than 22,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in Somalia in the multinational African Union force.

Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds in south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues to launch deadly guerrilla attacks against the Somali government and African Union forces across Ethiopia.