Curfew continues in Baidoa after fighting

Baidoa, the seat of Somalia's transitional government, was on Monday entering the third day of a curfew imposed after an outbreak of fighting between presidential guards and militiamen during which at least 16 people were killed.

A statement from the office of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed said the indefinite curfew, which took effect on Saturday, a day after the clashes, would last each night from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. Violators would be subject to a US$110-$220 fine or a jail term from one to three months.

Fighting erupted on Friday when units of the presidential guard began dismantling roadblocks manned by militiamen of the Geledleh a subclan of the main Rahanweyn clan, which is predominant in south-central Somalia . The dead included a well-known traditional leader of the Geledleh, Malaq Somow Abdi Garrun. A member of Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament, Muhammed Hussein Afaraleh, was wounded.

The transitional government also banned the carrying of illegally owned weapons in Baidoa. In addition, the statement said the removal of illegal roadblocks, where militiamen extort money from motorists, would continue because it is the government's responsibility to collect revenue from the public.

Meanwhile, the government presented a request to parliament on Sunday, asking the House to endorse the deployment of an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. The interim administration said such a force would help bring stability to Somalia, which has been wracked by civil strife since the collapse in 1991 of the administration of Muhammad Siyad Barre.