Renewed fighting claims 11 in Mogadishu

At least 11 people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in renewed fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, as heavy artillery and mortar fire pounded parts of the city for the second day on Thursday.

The latest upsurge in violence brings to an end a weeklong truce between militiamen loyal to the Islamic courts and those of the newly created Alliance for Peace and the Fight Against International Terrorism. Sources in the city said fighting started in the northern Sii Sii area of Yaqshid District on Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday. After a lull on Wednesday evening, fighting intensified on Thursday morning in Taleeh District near the Mogadishu stadium, also known as ‘Taraabunka’. By mid-morning, it had spread to Daynille and Galgalato areas.

A doctor at Medina Hospital in Mogadishu said the facility had been hit by a stray mortar round on Thursday that killed a patient and injured two others. The doctor, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, said several of the hospital's staff members were unable to go to work because of the violence and that the hospital was running out of medical supplies because fighting had prevented workers from bringing replenishments from stores.

Medical sources at Keysaane and Medina hospitals said at least six wounded people died and 20 other patients had been admitted, some in critical condition. Eyewitnesses in Yaqshid and Taleeh districts saw at least five dead bodies, among them a small boy and a woman, lying in the streets.

"The warlords captured the area yesterday night [Wednesday], and the Islamic militia fought them this morning. They [the warlords] have been driven away, but the battle is continuing. I’m talking to you from under my bed, and you can hear sounds of heavy gunfire and mortars," said Saidia Mohamed, a panic-stricken resident of Taleeh.

According another resident in Nambar Afar, fighting was sparked after militiamen allied to the anti-terror coalition captured the area, which is within Taleeh District.

Residents who had been optimistic during the ceasefire that tensions were easing fled from their homes around Yaqshid, Taleeh and Kaaraan districts on Thursday, eyewitnesses said. Some were seen running, a few with children on their backs, towards Lafoole and Afgoyes districts, some 20km away from the city, to seek refuge. Throughout Mogadishu, there was no movement of public buses and trucks, and schools remained closed for the second day.

Fighting between militia loyal to Nur Daqle of the anti-terror coalition and those led by Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmed, the chairman of the Islamic courts, broke out in Mogadishu on 7 May and continued for a week, killing almost 200 people. Daqle and Ahmed belong to the Agoon Yar subclan of the Abgal community. What started as an internal feud between members of the Agoon Yar subclan of the Abgal community soon became a battle between the Islamic courts and a newly established anti-terrorism alliance that comprises several Mogadishu-based faction leaders.

One analyst blamed mediators for the renewed fighting, saying they had failed to remove the militiamen from previous flashpoints when the two sides agreed to halt fighting.

Meanwhile, two faction leaders turned cabinet ministers who belong to the anti-terror coalition have said they will resign from Somalia’s transitional federal government. Musa Sudi Yalahow, commerce minister, and Mohammed Qanyare Afrah, the national security minister, said they would relinquish their positions because the government was not committed to eradicating terror in Mogadishu.

Last week Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi gave five ministers, including Qanyare and Yalohow, until 24 May to report to Baidoa town, the temporary TFG base, and warned he would take steps against the ministers if they disobeyed the order.