Hundreds of families have fled the Hiiraan and Galgadud regions of central Somalia after clashes between two communities claimed more than 30 lives, sources said.

Moalim Mahmamud Hassan, the Eil Buur district commissioner who returned from the area on 20 August, said another 50 people had been wounded during the interclan fighting.

The clashes began on 18 August between the Murusade and Hawaadle subclans of the main Hawiye clan, and were concentrated in and around the town of Goob, 310 km north of the Somali capital Mogadishu, and Wabho and the surrounding villages, 30 km to the north, he said.

"The clashes have displaced hundreds of families on both sides," he said. "Our estimate is that between 10,000 and 12,000 people have been displaced."

Many of them escaped into the hinterland and had no access to wells or water points, Hassan said. "We are appealing to aid agencies to assist the people displaced by the fighting."

Yusuf Ahmed Hagar, the governor of the Hiiraan region, told IRIN it was not clear why the fighting started, but he called on both sides to observe the peace.

Another local source said the two groups had in the past fought sporadically over grazing land and water points, but the latest clash was linked to revenge killings. Each side blamed the other for starting the fighting, he said.

While fights over grazing pasture and water were not unusual in these areas, he said "what is unusual is for the clashes to escalate to this level".

Hagar said the remoteness of the area made it difficult to accurately gauge the scale of the displacement and how much assistance would be required.

"We have sent officials to assess and report the extent of the need," he said.

The source said tensions remained high in the area even though the fighting had subsided: "There is no peace agreement and there is fear that both sides are regrouping and rearming."

Elders from a neutral clan and religious leaders were reportedly engaged in mediation between the two sides.

Both Hagar and Hassan welcomed the involvement of the mediation team and have called on the sides to resolve their differences peacefully.

"I am hopeful we can contain the situation and there will be no new fighting, "said Hagar.