Heavy fighting in a town in central Somalia has left at least 30 people dead and 100 wounded. Government sources said the fighting was taking place between its troops and a group with links to Islamic radicals of al-Shabab. The clashes, involving heavy artillery, have been taking place in residential areas of Galkayou. Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohammed Ali has appealed for a halt to the fighting, calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Meanwhile, the UN has warned that the situation in drought-stricken Somalia is deteriorating, and that almost all regions of the south could face famine. It says rates of malnutrition and mortality are rising and diseases are continuing to spread.