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| Africa Horn |
| Ceasefire declared in Mogadishu |
| 2006-05-10 |
| Islamic militia and a self-styled anti-terrorism alliance of warlords in Somalia's capital declared an apparent truce on Tuesday after fighting that has killed around 60 people, both sides said. The battle is the third this year between the two sides. They have been among the most furious fights in the lawless capital, Mogadishu, in years. At least 103 people, mostly civilians, were wounded in the latest clash, which took place in the run-down Siisii area. "Following requests from traditional elders and activists and growing concern from the general public we have decided to cease fighting," Sheik Sharif Ahmed, chairperson of the Mogadishu Islamic Courts, told reporters in the coastal city. The warlords said they would stop the fighting, which has raged since Sunday, as long as the Islamic militia did. "If they have stopped fighting, then on our side it is also over," Hussein Gutale Rage, a warlord coalition spokesperson, told reporters. Many diplomats believe the clashes have been fuelled by US support for the warlords, who are unpopular among many citizens because their militias have victimised them or extorted money from them at checkpoints for years. But this year's fighting in Mogadishu, a city awash with AK-47s and heavy military hardware, has been the worst for years. Two battles in February and March killed 90 people. Witnesses said dozens had been killed. "Nearly 60 have died so far since the battle began on Sunday," Abdifatah Abdikadir, a resident living near the Kilometre 4 area of Mogadishu, told reporters by telephone. "Most parts of the capital are burning," Abubakar Hassan said. The violence is a setback to plans by an interim Somali government - the 14th attempt to restore central rule in 15 years - to move from its provincial base Baidoa to the capital. It is also impeding relief efforts in a nation where nearly two million people rely on emergency food aid. Around Mogadishu, thousands of internal refugees live in squalor in the war-scarred shells of former government buildings. Fighters on the Islamic militia side are linked to Mogadishu's powerful sharia courts and funded by local businessmen. Coalition leaders and diplomats say they include some al-Qaeda-trained fighters. Washington has long viewed mainly Muslim Somalia as a potential haven for Islamic militants, and it is thought by many both inside and outside the nation to be sending money to the Mogadishu warlords as part of its counter-terrorism strategy. Even Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf said last week Washington was backing the warlords, whose new coalition dubs itself the "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism". US officials have mainly avoided comment. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |