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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 22 February 2006

SOMALIA: Mogadishu "calm but tense" - residents

NAIROBI, 22 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - After days of heavy fighting, a tentative calm has returned to the Somali capital of Mogadishu, with no reports of clashes since Tuesday night, local sources told IRIN.

"There is an unofficial ceasefire in place, and it appears to be holding," Abdullahi Shirwa, of the Civil Society in Action, one of the groups mediating between the warring sides, said.

The fighting, which began on Saturday, pits armed militias who are reportedly loyal to a new alliance of faction leaders against armed militias of the Islamic courts.

The newly created coalition - the Alliance for Peace and Fight Against International Terrorism - comprises several Mogadishu-based faction leaders. Its members include, among others, Muhammad Qanyare Afrah, Muse Sudi Yalahow, Omar Finnish, Bashir Raghe and Abdirashid Shire Ilqeyte.

"The city is calm but tense, with a few more businesses open today than yesterday," Shirwa added.

The fighting has claimed the lives of more than 25 people and wounded some 150. Casualty figures were expected to rise after the fighting stopped, hospital sources said on Wednesday.

A mediation committee led by elders and civil society groups reportedly arranged the temporary ceasefire, said Ibrahim Omar Shaaweye, mayor of Mogadishu. "We have a temporary ceasefire in place, but we hope to have a permanent one in place by the end of the day," he said.

Mediation efforts are still in progress, but attempts to arrange a meeting between the two sides have so far been unsuccessful.

"We have formed a committee to disengage the forces, which are still facing each other", said Shaaweye. "We want them to return to the positions they held prior to the outbreak of the hostilities."

Meanwhile, many of the 1,500 families displaced by the fighting are still crowded into makeshift shelters. "We hope to return them to their homes once we have a permanent ceasefire signed," said Shaaweye.

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but May not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006