Six die in Mogadishu militia clash

At least six people were killed on Tuesday on the outskirts of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, when Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militiamen attacked two checkpoints manned by armed men loyal to a faction leader recently defeated by the UIC.

The clash near Lafole village, 25 km south of Mogadishu, was the first since 5 June when the UIC took control of the city from a group of faction leaders, known as the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter Terrorism.

An eyewitness who declined to be named said the early Tuesday clash was part of the UIC's ongoing efforts to consolidate its grip on Mogadishu and surrounding areas.

All of the dead were from Abdi Hassan Qeybdid's camp, the eyewitness said. He added that the UIC forces also captured three ‘technicals’ (battle wagons) from Qeybdid's fighters.

Qeybdid, a former army officer, was a member of the alliance which was defeated after months of fighting which claimed the lives at least 350 people.

On 14 June, Qeybdid told IRIN that he quit the alliance after "intense pressure from elders and others in the diaspora from my clan to quit. Because others [faction leaders] ran away, I did not see any point in continuing with this."

However, another source said Qeybdid did not relinquish his weapons to the UIC as demanded. "I think they [the UIC] were not comfortable that he was out there with all that weaponry," said a member of the civil society, who requested anonymity.

He said Qeybdid's forces were now holed up at the K6 area, south Mogadishu, "with Islamic court forces surrounding them from both north and south".

The situation in the area was tense with "families moving out fearing renewed clashes", the eyewitness said. However, efforts were underway to end the confrontation, "with elders trying to get the two sides to talk".

On Friday, unidentified gunmen shot and killed a Swedish cameraman covering a demonstration called by the UIC in Mogadishu.