Ministers unable to reach Baidoa due to fighting

Insecurity in Somalia's south-central town of Baidoa, one of the two proposed seats of the transitional government, has prevented a ministerial delegation visiting the town, sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

The group of five ministers and two Members of Parliament instead went to Huddur, a town 100 km further north, after fighting erupted in Baidoa at the weekend. They had been sent by Somalia's transitional federal government (TFG) to assess the security situation in Baidoa.

The fighting involved militiamen loyal to two rival leaders of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army faction - Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade and Hassan Muhammed Nur "Shatigudud" - both members of the recently created TFG. Shatigudud, a minister in the TFG, was in the group that went to Huddur.

Clashes first erupted on 24 March, but the violence later died down - only to flare up again on 26 March. Several people were killed, dozens wounded and scores fled their homes.

Reportedly, the fighting was sparked by a demonstration organised by supporters of Shatigudud, who backed the Somali cabinet’s recent decision to temporarily relocate from its current base in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to Baidoa and Jowhar. Habsade had reportedly opposed the move to relocate the new government.

Militiamen from both sides shot at each other during the demonstration and later engaged in full-scale warfare. They used rocket-propelled grenades, heavy artillery and assault rifles to pound each other's positions, according to residents contacted by telephone.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when the administration of Mohamed Siyad Barre was toppled. Serious conflict ensued between various clan-based faction leaders and their militias, who scrambled to claim power, resources and territory.

The country’s TFG was formed in Kenya last year, but has so far been unable to move back to Somalia because of security considerations. It is, however, under increasing pressure from the Kenyan government and Western diplomats to establish itself in Somalia.

According to sources in Huddur, the TFG delegation was consulting with local elders on how to resolve the conflict in Baidoa.