Mogadishu Calm After Days of Heavy Fighting
27 April 2007
The streets of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, have been relatively calm Friday, after more than a week of intense fighting.
Ethiopian and Somali government troops are patrolling the streets of the battered city in a hunt for any remaining Islamist insurgents.
There was at least one incident of looting, with men in army uniforms stealing computers and other property from a Coca-Cola bottling plant.
A local group tracking casualties (the Elman Human Rights Organization) says about 400 people died in the past nine days as allied government and Ethiopian forces carried out an offensive to wipe out the insurgents.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi announced Thursday that allied forces had seized a large portion of rebel-controlled territory. He claimed victory over the insurgents in an interview with the Associated Press.
More than 340,000 residents have fled the city since February, leaving parts of Mogadishu deserted. Many of those who fled are huddled in refugee camps that are short on supplies of food and water, leaving people vulnerable to disease.
A spokeswoman for the United Nations humanitarian agency says more people have been displaced internally in Somalia this year than in any other country.
John Holmes, the U.N.'s under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said Thursday that relief had only reached about 60,000 displaced Somalis because of the fighting. He described their condition as "worrying."
Ethiopian troops entered Somalia last year to help the interim government drive a rival Islamist movement from power. Insurgents began attacking government targets in January, soon after Islamist leaders vowed to continue fighting.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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