Uneasy calm in Mogadishu

An uneasy calm is returning to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, two days after one of the bloodiest battles for years was fought there, local sources told IRIN.

A local journalist said Mogadishu was calm but tense on Thursday following Tuesday's fighting. "There is a general calm, with some businesses reopening in north Mogadishu," he said. "Public transport is back on the roads, but of a lesser volume than usual, with some people waiting to see how things develop."

The hostilities, which claimed over 60 lives, involved forces of the Transitional National Government (TNG) and those of faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow, a member of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council, which is a grouping of southern factions opposed to the TNG. Sources in Mogadishu told IRIN that militia loyal to faction leaders Usman Ali Ato and Muhammad Dhere, had also taken part in the fighting, on Yalahow's side.

A humanitarian source in Mogadishu told IRIN on Thursday that the fighting had displaced thousands of families, particularly in north Mogadishu where most of the fighting took place. "There has been a large movement of people in the past two days. Some families are moving back to north Mogadishu today, while others are leaving," he said. "The whole situation is very confused, and people don't know what will happen next."

"Families are fleeing their homes in north Mogadishu in fear of renewed violence," the local journalist added. "They are doing so because of reports of forces mobilising on both sides, and the fear of more clashes. However, there is no visible mobilisation going on in the city, and the chances of renewed fighting in the next few days are slim."

Other sources said both sides to the conflict believed they could finish off the other and were therefore likely to mount fresh attacks. "There is a definite stalemate at the moment, but it is not going to last," they said.

"The humanitarian situation is likely to get worse for those caught in the crossfire," said the humanitarian source. "Many of the people fleeing back and forth are very poor and eke out their living from daily wages or from what they can sell that day. If they are unable to work that day, then they and their children do not eat. I hope both sides will use this time to think about the effect this is having on the population."