MOGADISHU, Somalia

At least five people, including three soldiers, were wounded when a gunfight erupted between regional rival forces Tuesday in Somalia's port city of Bosaaso, according to officials.

"The firefight caused several casualties, including deaths, but I cannot confirm any numbers. The fighting started earlier today and we are still hearing sporadic gunfire and many parts of the city are in complete shutdown," a police officer in Bosaaso told Anadolu Agency via telephone.

Bosaso's Mayor Abdiqani Deeredile said an "insurgent group was causing trouble in Bossaso, who refused to hand over power and claimed to be part of the Goror forces."

Goror forces are an elite Somali military unit.

He said Puntland Security Forces (PSF) have been wreaking havoc in the city since Monday, violating a civil order.

The PSF was working separately for the last few weeks after the President of the Puntland semiautonomous region, Said Abdullahi Deni, dismissed the group's chief.

But the chief refused to accept the dismissal and did not handover the post. That resulted in the current escalation and fighting in Bosaso which is the most populous city in northeast Somalia and a major commercial district.

The PSF was originally established by the US as an elite spy group to fight "terrorism" but later became powerful and challenged the highest authority in the semi-autonomous state.

Puntland traditional elders tried to deescalate the standoff but those efforts have ended in failure.

Bosaso is a port city 1,414 kilometers (878 miles) northeast of the nation's capital of Mogadishu.

Maymun Hassan, a resident who spoke to Anadolu Agency said a large number of the civilians in the city have started fleeing to escape the fighting and crossfire.

"My neighborhood is a relative far away from the fighting but I have seen mothers running, children running and a lot of people have already fled," she said.