Life returning to normal in Baidoa

Life in Baidoa, in southwestern Somalia and site of the headquarters of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), is returning to normal, a week after falling to forces loyal to the RRA chairman, Col Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, a local business source told IRIN on Tuesday.

Baidoa has been the scene of fierce fighting between two RRA factions over the past month. The fighting first broke out on 1 July between forces loyal to Shatigadud and those of his two deputies, Shaykh Adan Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade, in an apparent power struggle.

On 31 July, Shatigadud's forces managed to drive those of his opponents out of the town and secure it. "Shatigadud, is now in full control of the town", a local source told IRIN at the time.

"There has been no gunfire for the past six days," said Abdullahi Haji. The town was now quiet, he said. "Many businesses have reopened, but others have not, waiting to see how the situation develops."

Another source in Baidoa told IRIN that many people who had fled to neighbouring towns "are still not convinced that it is all over. There is still this fear that Shatigadud's opponents will mount a counterattack against the town," he said. "With the pounding the town took, you cannot blame them for being a bit cautious."

Meanwhile, Shatigadud loyalists have reportedly mined many of the roads in the Baidoa area, "especially the road between Baidoa and Hoddur", other sources in Baidoa told IRIN on Tuesday.