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Kismayo seized by Morgan militia

    NAIROBI

    Militia of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) captured the port city of Kismayo, 500 km south of Mogadishu, on Monday morning, a senior SRRC official told IRIN. Fighting for Kismayo started on Sunday night, and by “0800 [local time] Kismayo was in our hands”, Muhammad Ali Adan Qalinle of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) said. The RRA is a component of the SRRC, which brings together southern factions opposed to the Transitional National Government (TNG). The SRRC militia which captured Kismayo was led by General Muhammad Sa’id Hirsi Morgan of the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), Qalinle said. However, another source told IRIN on Monday that fighting in and around the port was continuing and it was not clear who was in charge - “There is fighting going on at the airport today.”

    More than 600 militiamen from the SRRC stormed Kismayo, leaving at least 18 dead and dozens of civilians wounded, Associated Press (AP) said. The AP report - which described the militia as Ethiopian-backed, and led by Morgan - said they took control of the airport without a fight but encountered resistance when they approached the presidential residence in the centre of town. Ethiopia has repeatedly denied any military or political interference in Somali affairs.

    Kismayo has been in the hands of the Juba Valley Alliances (JVA) since June 1999, when it expelled the forces Morgan. The JVA is a pro-TNG grouping of Marehan, Ogadeni, and Habar Gedir clans.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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