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| International |
| At least 62 people killed in Mogadishu violence |
| 2002-05-28 |
| At least 62 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in factional fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu, Hussein Mohamed Aidid told AFP. Aidid, chairman of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) grouping several warlords hostile to the Transitional National Government (TNG), said the clashes between SRRC and TNG fighters killed 42 people on the side of the TNG and 20 from the SRRC. These numbers included civilians on either side of the battlelines as well as militiamen. This sort of thing breaks out every now and then. The TNG accuses the SRRC of being driven by Ethiopia, and the SRRC claims the TNG is driven by al-Qaeda. "The TNG (forces) were assisted by religious fundamentalist fighters from Al-Itihad al-Islam," Aidid charged. This armed fundamentalist group in Somalia is suspected by the United States of having links to Al-Qaeda. If they're there at all, they're pretty weak. They don't appear to be openly active. Aidid said the TNG had at the weekend and during the night deployed "some 1,000 fighters supported with 30 battlewagons." He said a dozen people from the SRRC side were also wounded. Local hospitals and militia sources said the violence in north Mogadishu early Tuesday claimed at least 26 lives and 43 wounded. The TNG, led by Abdulkassim Salat Hassan, was founded by an inter-clan conference sponsored and hosted by neighbouring Djibouti, but rejected by the warlords. TNG controls mostly downtown Mogadishu... "The idea of the attack was to destroy the forces of Musa Sudi Yalahow and then attack other SRRC factions one by one. The trick was masterminded and dictated to Salat group by outsiders," Aidid charged. "The attack was overseen by Salat, his defense minister and two other military generals, as well as military experts from abroad," Aidid claimed, pointing his fingers at Libya, Eritrea, Yemen and Djibouti. That's where they keep the Bad Guys... "The poorly trained unprofessional army fled the area they occupied early Tuesday, left their weapons and failed to collect the dead soldiers from the north Mogadishu battle grounds," Aidid said, adding that he was in constant contact with SRRC fighters in Mogadishu. Doesn't sound like much to get excited about. Either pick one side and help it wipe out the others, or wait until they're done and see if we like the result. The first option's probably the better of the two, but following the second for awhile lets them thin the field. Whichever group shows us the heads with the turbans will end up getting the assistance. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |