The Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), which controls the Bay and Bakol regions in southwestern Somalia, has denied reports of a split within its senior ranks, a senior RRA official has told IRIN.

Muhammad Ali Adan Qalinle, the governor of Baidoa, 240 km southwest of Mogadishu described the reports as "mere gossip, propagated by rumour-mongers". There have been persistent reports in Mogadishu-based newspapers of a split within the RRA executive. 'Ayaamaha', a Mogadishu daily, monitored by the BBC, reported on Monday that differences within the group had deepened. The differences were reportedly over the holding of the RRA general conference, said 'Ayaamaha'.

In a telephone call from Baidoa, the headquarters of the RRA and capital of Bay region, Qalinle told IRIN: "Within any group there are bound to be some disagreements and different views on things." He said the RRA executive council operated like a parliament, and in any parliament "you will have people who bring a motion and those who oppose the motion". Qalinle described the Mogadishu-based press as" merchants of gossip" who lived on rumours and hearsay.