Mogadishu suffers new round of fighting

In Mogadishu, the Somali newspaper 'Qaran' reported seven people killed and five wounded in a gunbattle in Madina District, south-western Mogadishu, which started on Friday afternoon. Fierce fighting broke out between residents and militiamen loyal to faction leader Hussein Mohamed Aideed, said the report. Local people had refused to pay taxes imposed by the faction leader. According to the report, militiamen loyal to another faction leader, Musa Sude Yalahow, joined with civilians in the fight against Aideed's militia. Both sides used light and heavy weapons, and continued to battle until midnight Friday.

UN sources confirmed to IRIN the reported battle in Mogadishu over the weekend, as well as another one involving a minor faction leader in north Mogadishu, Ibrahim Rageh, and another in southern Mogadishu over a roadblock. Although fighting in the capital is "mainly local", said the source, the Somali Peace Conference in Djibouti "has an impact as who represents who is a critical issue". "Smaller militia leaders are opportunistically manoeuvring around the sensitive question of representation and power," the source added.