Ali Nur Mohamed, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, told reporters in the Somali capital that the farmers were killed "one by one" after soldiers stormed the farm in Barire village on Friday.

He says a child and a woman are among the dead. He calls the attack a "real genocide."

It is not clear which foreign forces are blamed for the attack. The U.S. military has stepped up efforts this year against the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab, often in support of Somali forces.

The U.S. Africa Command did not immediately respond to questions.

Somali officials have displayed the victims' bloodied bodies in the capital, Mogadishu.