EC condemns violations of ceasefire

The EC delegation in Kenya has condemned violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed by the parties at the ongoing Somali peace talks in Kenya.

A statement issued by the EC said it "notes with dismay the recent violence in the Middle Shabelle Region, where some 23 people, mostly innocent civilians and including school children, were killed".

Under the terms of the agreement, signed by the parties on 27 October, the Somali groups agreed to suspend all hostilities for the duration of the conference.

However, since then, there have been continued violations, with fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, the towns of Las Anod in the northeast and Baidoa in the southwest, and in the Bari, Bay, Bakol, Gedo and Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, and Middle Juba regions.

The statement said the EC "strongly condemns the fighting as a violation of the Declaration on the Cessation of Hostilities" and called on all parties "to cease hostilities immediately" and find "a peaceful settlement to their differences".

The latest fighting was between the two Abgal sub clans of Muhammad Muse and Warsangeli, sources told IRIN. It reportedly started after forces loyal to the self-styled "governor" of Middle Shabelle, Muhammad Umar Habib a.k.a. Muhammad Dhere, a Warsangeli, captured the village of Raghe-Eil, a Muhammad Muse stronghold.

The fighting has caused hundreds of families to flee Raghe-Eil and the surrounding villages which bore the brunt of the fighting, and were moving in response to reports of renewed fighting and a fear that "the fighting will resume again", Ahmadey Shaykh Hasan, a leader of the Muhammad Muse sub-clan, told IRIN on Wednesday.