Renewed fighting as Baidoa ceasefire breaks down

A ceasefire arranged by a mediation committee and officially signed earlier this month by two warring factions of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) in the southern town of Baidoa, broke down over the weekend, a local source told IRIN.

Heavy fighting resumed in Baidoa on Saturday afternoon when forces loyal to the RRA chairman, Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, attacked troops loyal to his two deputies, Shaykh Adan Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade.

"Shatigadud forces attacked the Bonkai checkpoint [northwest of the town] manned by Madobe/Habsade forces, and the fighting spread from there to the rest of town", the source said.

The fighting subsided that evening, but resumed the next day when both sides used mortars and anti-aircraft weapons against each other, a business source told IRIN on Monday. The fighting again died down that night.

This latest round of fighting has left an indeterminate number of people dead or wounded. "We don't have exact figures yet, but the numbers are high, much higher than the fighting earlier this month, the business source said. "It has never been this intense in the past."

Other sources in Baidoa put the death toll at over 30, with more than 60 injured.

The RRA, which controls most of Bay and Bakol regions in southwestern Somalia, has been embroiled in a power struggle between its chairman, Shatigadud, and his two deputies. This led to factional fighting in Baidoa at the beginning of July which claimed the lives of over 40 people.

There is an unofficial truce currently holding in the town, "but everyone is expecting new round of fighting to break out anytime", the sources said. "They are basically regrouping and looking for more ammunition before they start again."

Elders who have been mediating between the two sides are said to have "more or less given up after their advice was ignored". On Friday, the elders proposed that Shatigadud, Madobe and Habsade attend an elders' meeting on Sunday which was expected to make a ruling, but "this was pre-empted by the fighting," sources said. With no mediation going on, and with both sides in their defensive positions, "there is a high probability of renewed clashes", said one.

Meanwhile, people are reported to be fleeing the town, after Sunday's intense shelling. "People are leaving because of fear of the mortar bombardment," the sources said. "Many people, including children, were killed by mortar bombs."