Fighters loyal to secular warlords and Islamic
extremists fired artillery and mortars at each other early Thursday in Somalia's
capital as hundreds of families fled violence that has killed at least 122
people over five days.
Gunmen keep guard as thousands of people
gather to listen to the speaker of the Somali parliament, Shariif Hassan
Sheikh Aden in this Sunday, Feb. 6, 2005 file picture in Mogadishu,
Somalia. [AP] |
The fighting has escalated steadily despite efforts by businessmen, clan
elders and moderate religious leaders to broker a cease-fire. It started Sunday
when extremists with alleged ties to al-Qaida tried to capture a strategic road
through northern Mogadishu from the warlords.
The battle between the Islamic Court Union and the Alliance for the
Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism has centered on the northern
neighborhood of Sii-Sii, with neither side gaining an advantage. While the
alliance has held the road through Sii-Sii, the court union has controlled the
neighborhoods on either side of it.
Militias allied to the extremists and the warlords in other parts of the city
have not joined in the fighting, but continue to man their defenses amid rising
tensions.
Medical officials reported 26 people killed since nightfall Wednesday. Most
of the victims have been civilians caught in the crossfire. Doctors say more
than 200 people have been wounded.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said two hospitals have admitted
184 wounded people, including 20 women and 22 children, and expressed concerns
about "the consequences in humanitarian terms of the intense armed clashes."
Twelve shells missed their target overnight, landing on civilian homes far
from the fighting, witnesses said.
"In one event, seven people of the same family — including three children —
died when a mortar hit their house in Huriwaa district," Dayah Idiris, the
victims' neighbor, told The Associated Press.
Hundreds of families gathered at the central bus station to flee the city.
"The fighting continues killing our brothers and sisters in front of us, so
we decided to leave the city rather than watching them in a pool of blood," said
Khasim Siidow, a father of eight children, who was on minibus to Wanlaweyn, 55
miles south west of Mogadishu.
Islamic Court Union chairman Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has repeatedly promised
to observe a cease-fire, but so far none has taken hold.
Late Wednesday, civic leader Abdulahi Shir'wa said neutral groups were
mediating talks between the leaders of the two militias. But Abdinura Siad, a
commander of the secular alliance, said he thought the mediators were biased.
"The Islamists should stop fighting, then we can stop,"
Siad said. "We are only defending ourselves."
