Thousands flee militia fighting in Mogadishu

Thousands of people, especially women and children, were fleeing their homes in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Thursday as fighting between rival militias entered a second day, witnesses said.

"Our estimate of the dead yesterday was around 50. Today, we can, so far confirm 20," said a doctor in one of the city's main hospitals. "Because of where the fighting is taking place, the vast majority of those who died are militia and not civilians."

The final death toll could be much higher, "because a lot of people are being buried where they died," said the doctor. He said that over 100 others were wounded.

Hundreds of families fled their homes in the city's northern outskirts after fierce fighting broke out on Wednesday. Some of those who stayed behind to protect their property from looters were reported to have begun leaving when the clashes continued for a second day.

The conflict flared up when armed militia, reportedly loyal to Abukar Umar Adani, a wealthy businessman, attacked the positions of militiamen loyal to Bashir Raghe.

"The fighting is going on. It started out slow in the morning but picked intensity later. It is as bad as it was yesterday [Wednesday]," said a local resident, who requested anonymity. "Both sides received reinforcement around 12:00 [local time] and that is when things picked up."

He said that "people living in Waxara Cade and Suuqa Dayaha area [close to the centre of the fighting] are leaving in droves."

The normally busy area near the livestock market was "very quiet", he said, adding that most of the displaced were heading for the relative safety of south Mogadishu.

"There is a heavy traffic in front of my house of people and their children carrying whatever belongings they could," said another resident in south Mogadishu.

The fighting began on Wednesday morning. It sucked in forces of the Alliance for Peace and the Fight Against International Terrorism, which comprises several Mogadishu-based faction leaders on Raghe's sde. Other members of the alliance include Muhammad Qanyare Afrah, Muse Sudi Yalahow, Omar Finnish and Abdirashid Shire Ilqeyte.

Adani, who controls the El-Ma'an beach port - which has served as Mogadishu's port since the closure in 1995 of the city's main port - is reportedly close to the Islamic courts and is receiving support from the Islamic court militia.

"The fighting now is between the alliance and the courts," said Abdullahi Shirwa, a member of Civil Society in Action, an umbrella organisation made up of more than 12 Mogadishu groups. "There is no telling how long it will go on."

Elders and civil society groups were considering how to intervene to stop the fighting. "There is confusion as to whether this is interclan fighting or not," Shirwa said. He also remarked that there was lack of clear-cut leadership on both sides. "Who do we contact in the Islamic courts or in the alliance? That is hampering our efforts," he said.