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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
SOMALIA: People flee as military movements create fear
NAIROBI, 27 Nov 2006 (IRIN) - Rising tension due to rivalry between feuding groups around Baidao, the seat of the country's interim government, has prompted residents to leave the town and nearby Buur Hakaba amid fears that armed forces massing in the area could soon clash, witnesses said on Monday.
Forces loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controls much of the south and central Somalia, including the capital, Mogadishu, are massing at Buur Hakaba, 60 km south of Baidoa, in anticipation of a showdown with forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which is allegedly supported by Ethiopian troops. Addis Ababa has denied sending a fighting force to Somalia, but has acknowledged that its "military advisers" were helping the TFG.
The Ethiopian authorities were not available for comment on Monday.
"Many families have already left and many more are leaving," Usman Muhammad, a Buur Hakaba resident, said.
"The atmosphere is one of war in the place. We don't know when it will begin but we know it is coming. "There is too much movement of troops on both sides," he added.
He said many people were fleeing towards Mogadishu, 180 km to the southeast, while others are going to "safer villages around the area".
The UIC has been bringing large numbers of troops and equipment into the region for the past weeks. "Their numbers increased dramatically from last week," Muhammad said.
He said people living in villages between Baidao and Buur Hakaba had left their homes.
The situation is no better in Baidao, according to residents there. "Baidao has become a military garrison. Everywhere you look there are military people," said one, who asked not to be named.
"I sent away my wife and kids last week. I don't want them caught up in any fighting. Most of those who can afford to have sent their families to safer areas," he added.
"There is a real fear among the population that a war between the Islamic courts and the TFG and Ethiopian forces is imminent and everybody is trying to get away before it is too late," he said.
Abdirahman Sheikh, a Baidao businessman, told IRIN business in the town had been badly affected by the brewing conflict. "There is a severe shortage of fuel which is having an impact on other businesses."
The UIC has put restrictions on fuel going to Baidao from Mogadishu. "The prices of food and other essential commodities have increased dramatically," he said.
Sheikh said the TFG had started to tax any goods coming into the town, and this, "coupled with Courts' restrictions on fuel, has forced many small traders out of business. Many poor people have lost their livelihoods."
Meanwhile, many families in the town of Abudwaaq, in the central Galgadud region, close to the Ethiopian border, are reported to be fleeing. "They think that there will be war between the courts and the Ethiopians," a businessman said.
The UIC took control of Abudwaaq on 21 November without a fight.
Since the UIC took control of Mogadishu in June, it has continued to extend its authority over much of southern and central Somalia, challenging the authority of the transitional government. The TFG was set up in 2004 in a bid to restore law and order in the Horn of Africa country, which has had no functioning national government since the regime headed by the late Muhammad Siyad Barre was toppled in 1991.
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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
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