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At least 60 people have died in the latest fighting in Mogadishu, with hundreds wounded, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday.
The bloodiest fighting in Somalia in the last few years erupted on Tuesday morning after militia, reportedly loyal to Mogadishu faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow, clashed with forces of the Transitional National Government (TNG) in north Mogadishu, "in the same general area where clashes between the two sides occurred last Friday [24 May]", Muhammad Tahlil, a north Mogadishu resident, told IRIN.
The fierce battle lasted "until midday today [Tuesday] when each force returned to its base", he said.
Yalahow had reportedly accused the TNG of initiating the fighting, the Mogadishu-based HornAfrik radio reported on Tuesday.
However, TNG Information Minister Abdirahman Ibbi told IRIN on Tuesday that Yalahow's forces had attacked positions of the Somali police forces very early on Tuesday morning.
The fighting reportedly drew in the forces of another faction leader, Usman Hasan Ato, a local journalist told IRIN. "Ato's forces are definitely involved on the side of Muse Sudi," he said.
Hospital sources said most of the dead and wounded were civilian non-combatants hit by stray bullets, and included "women and children" wounded by mortar fire.
When the fighting subsided on Tuesday, the number of wounded in the various hospitals stood at "over 100", said a local doctor involved in compiling the data. Most of the wounded were taken to the privately owned Shifo, Al-Hayat, Hasan Jis and Mogadishu hospitals, and Keysaney hospital in north Mogadishu, he said.
A humanitarian source told IRIN that the current casualty figures reflected what the various forces had reported, but "the real death toll was probably higher than the hospital-based figures indicated."
"According to the figures we have, the TNG lost 15, Yalahow lost 29, Usman Ato lost 14 and Husayn Aydid lost two," he said.
"Most of the civilians who died were probably buried by family and friends immediately", while others were keeping their wounded at home, because "they are unable to take them to the hospitals", he added.
Mogadishu was now calm but tense on Tuesday afternoon, but no-one expected things to remain static, Hashi Olad, a resident told IRIN.
"We are all bracing ourselves for more until one side or the other is subdued," he added.
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
