Eight killed in clashes in Somalia's Puntland region

The clashes in the state capital, Garowe, erupted during a parliamentary session to debate changes to the local constitution, which the opposition claims is a bid by Puntland's president to extend his term in office.

"Around eight people were confirmed dead in the fighting and more than 10 others were wounded, including civilians," said Abdiweli Hassan, a police officer in Garowe.

He said the violence broke out when gunmen loyal to opposition politicians confronted security forces protecting parliament and tried to disrupt the session.

"They have been defeated and the situation in town is calm now," he said, adding: "No one will be allowed to act above the law."

One witness, Mohamednur Ali, said he saw around six dead bodies, adding: "The fighting was very intense and both sides used heavy machine guns."

In May, Puntland held local elections that were the first direct polls in Somalia in more than half a century, outside the breakaway region of Somaliland.

At the time, opposition politicians accused Puntland state president Said Abdullahi Deni of manipulating the election procedure and seeking to amend the constitution to enable him to extend his mandate which ends in January next year.

An arid oil-rich region in northeastern Somalia, Puntland declared autonomy in 1998 and relations with the central government in Mogadishu have often been tense.