Recent clashes in Somalia's semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country's federal system and creating an opening for extremist militant group Al-Shabaab to gain ground.
Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states -- Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West -- that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital Mogadishu.