Seven killed, families displaced by renewed fighting in Mogadishu

At least seven people were killed and scores wounded as rival armed groups fought on Sunday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, displacing dozens of families.

The violence erupted in Hamarweyne district in south Mogadishu when local residents opposed the setting up of a checkpoint by armed militias reportedly loyal to Mogadishu faction leader Abdi Nure Siyad, also known as "Abdi Wal". Siyad is a member of a newly created group - the Alliance for Peace and Fight Against International Terrorism - which comprises several Mogadishu-based faction leaders.

In late March, Mogadishu was the scene of heavy fighting between the Islamic courts militias and those from the newly formed group, which claims to be fighting against terrorism, during which more than 100 people were killed and 300 wounded. Thousands of families were displaced.

Sunday's fighting started at 8:00 a.m. local time [0500 GMT], after the militia refused to dismantle the checkpoint and leave, as requested by local elders. The fighting continued through most of the day and subsided at around 6:00 p.m. [1500 GMT] when Siyad's militia was forced to withdraw by the residents, according to a local journalist.

"We sent a delegation to ask them to leave," said Abdullahi Ibrahim, a Hamarweyne resident. "We support no group, and we want no part of their war. All we want is to live in peace."

"Siyad was invited by the local people to come to Hamarweyne, but he was attacked as soon as he got there by those who sympathise and harbour militants," said Hussein Gutale, a spokesman for the alliance, who maintained that Islamic court elements, not residents, had attacked Siyad's position.

Residents, who have been plagued by constant fighting between the two factions, fled the area as soon as Siyad's men arrived. "Many families left even before the fighting started," Ibrahim said. "They run if they hear even a rumour, much less a real fighting."

A local journalist in Mogadishu said that many families were leaving their homes because they believed that "Sunday's fighting was the first shot of a much bigger one to come." There has been so much "war talk" between the two sides that people in Mogadishu expect fighting to start at any time, he said.