More civilians abandon homes as skirmishes continue

Civilian families caught up in skirmishes between Somali government forces and insurgents in Mogadishu continued to abandon their homes for safer areas of the city on Thursday as the government vowed to take full control of the capital.

"There were some skirmishes early morning at Fagah area [north Mogadishu] but that died down," said a local resident. Fierce fighting erupted at the former military academy, however, at about 11am [local time] with reports of casualties, he added.

Although the clashes were less intense and confined mainly to one area in the south, "the city is tense and many people are moving from neighbourhoods that bore the brunt of fighting yesterday", said a civil-society source.

Clashes erupted on Wednesday morning between Ethiopian-backed government forces and residents supported by unknown militiamen, suspected of being the remnants of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). The violence claimed at least 34 lives and wounded dozens of others.

The government forces tried to enter the area to collect illegal weapons from the residents. "The security operation will continue until we remove the remnants of the extremist group [UIC], and the government is in full control of the city," said Salad Ali Jeele, deputy defence minister, calling on the population in the affected areas to move out and "find safer areas until the operation is over”.

Other sources said the clashes were of clan origin and not ‘government against insurgents’. Abdullahi Sheikh Hassan, a Hawiye politician, said: "This is a clan war. The Hawiye [clan of most Mogadishu residents] are defending themselves against an invading Puntland [President Abdullahi Yusuf's home region] militia."

The fighting was concentrated around the Shirkole (south) and Yaqshid, Suuqa Hoolaha and Towfiq (north). "I moved my family from Towfiq to a safer neighbourhood. I found a place for my family, but there are many who have no shelter at all," said Hassan Mahamud, a resident. "There are many families sheltering in the open along the Mogadishu-Afgoye [south] road."

"I could see women and children carrying what little belongings they could on their backs as they searched for safe places," said a civil-society source. The fighting trapped many residents in their homes while most of the displaced fled on foot, because public transport had stopped.

Hospital sources told IRIN that most of those injured or killed were civilians – especially women and children. "We have 105 war-wounded in our hospital from [Wednesday’s] fighting," said Sheikhdon Salad Ilmi, the director of Medina hospital.

ah/mw