Civilians flee homes as 54 killed in fighting

Hundreds of families fled the southwestern suburbs of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Monday as fighting between the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and militiamen loyal to two faction leaders claimed at least 54 lives.

Another 241 people were wounded as fighting raged between UIC forces and militiamen loyal to Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdid, a faction leader, and to Hussein Aideed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

A doctor at Medina hospital, who confirmed the numbers of dead, said the fighting, which was intense "in the early part of Sunday", had subsided in the late afternoon, "allowing people to flee" but resumed on Monday. An eyewitness said the second round of fighting started "at around 12:00 PM local time, with intense ferocity". He added: "It is more intense than yesterday's." The numbers of dead and injured are expected to rise.

Mogadishu is already home to an estimated 250,000 internally displaced people.

"I moved my family last evening [Sunday] to a safer place and many of my neighbours have done the same," said Dahir Muhammad 'Dhere', the acting director of Medina hospital and a resident of the Buulo Hubey area in Medina. The area is the epicentre of the fighting.

"The area took direct hits from mortar bombs yesterday [Sunday]. Even the hospital was hit by heavy weapons, forcing the evacuation of some patients," he added.

The fighting, which started in the K6 area and the district of Medina, south and southwest of Mogadishu, was the second such incident between the UIC and Qeybdid's militia. Qeybdid was a member of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter Terrorism, which was defeated by the UIC on 4 June.

Sources said the UIC forces first attacked positions held by militiamen loyal to Hussein Aideed. Thereafter they moved on to attack Qeybdid's positions.

"The Islamic fighters quickly overran these positions" and proceeded to capture most of the area previously occupied by Qeybdid, a source said. The current fighting "is the Courts' last push to dislodge" Qeybdid from his last outpost, he added.

"They [the Courts] have pushed Qeybdid's forces into a three- to four-block area of K6, and maybe are trying to force his surrender," he said, adding that attempts to convince Qeybdid, the last warlord in the capital, to relinquish his weapons had failed.

Meanwhile, civil society groups and elders are shuttling between the two sides in an attempt to find "a compromise solution to stop the fighting", another source told IRIN.

"We have approached those close to Qeybdid and we have sent emissaries to the UIC," the civil society source said. "We are hopeful that we will find the right solution."

He said the preferred option would be to allow Qeybdid to leave Mogadishu and for the UIC to give him safe passage.

ah/mw/eo