Heavy fighting in the Somali port of Kismayo has left at least thirty five dead and more than one-hundred in hospital, including women and children.

Artillery duels broke out at dawn between forces of the Somali Patriotic Movement, the SPM, and a rival militia, the Somali National Front, or SNF, which is reported to have attacked Kismayo from two directions.

Correspondents say fighting subsided late in the morning when the SNF withdrew to its positions outside the port.

A spokesman for the SPM told the BBC his forces had killed at least forty SNF fighters, and had lost eight of its own men.

There's no confirmation of this.