Alarm in Baidoa over militia movements

Tensions are rising in the southern Somali town of Baidao where the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is based, amid fears that the Islamists who control the capital, Mogadishu, could attack the town.

"There is a definite fear that these military movements could escalate into a real war," a local resident, speaking from the town, said on Thursday. "Some friends of mine are talking of moving their families out of Baidao."

The US State Department expressed concern over the situation, calling on "all Somali parties to immediately cease any hostile action and resume a process of peaceful dialogue".

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), however, denied claims that it had moved its fighters from Buur Hakaba, 60 km north, closer to the town.

"We have no plans to attack Baidao and we have made that clear in the past," said Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali, the first vice-chairman of the UIC. Some fighters who had been seen in Buur Hakaba, he added, were locals who had gone to their homes - "not part of a UIC plan to attack".

The TFG denounced the move, with Salad Ali Jeele, the Deputy Information Minister, calling it "a naked provocation and an aggression against the government". He said the government had put all its security forces on high alert, "to prepare for any eventuality".

Jeele said the TFG was calling on the UIC to remain in Mogadishu and "to avoid any action that could lead to further bloodshed".

An Islamic leader, Sheikh Mukhtar Roobow, led the forces that entered Buur Hakaba. Roobow denied his arrival was a prelude to an attack on Baidao. "I am here to visit my family and my own home," he said.

Roobow added that Buur Hakaba already had an Islamic court and "there is no need for us to establish another one".

Ali said the UIC would stick to its promise not to attack the seat of the Somali Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). "We have given our word on this, and we intend to keep our word," he said.

ah/mw/eo