Dozens Killed in Mogadishu Clashes
By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
11 May 2009
The Somali capital Mogadishu returned to relative calm on Monday, following four days of fighting between Islamist insurgents and pro-government forces that left at least 50 people dead.
The fighting, which started Thursday, was the fiercest that Mogadishu has seen in weeks, as activity in much of the capital came to a standstill. Witnesses said the clashes left nearly 200 people wounded and prompted the largest wave of people to flee the city since the start of the year.
Islamist insurgents from the Shabab and Hizbul Islam militias traded machine gun and mortar fire with government soldiers and pro-government militias. The fighting was concentrated in the north of the city. On Sunday, a mortar hit a mosque, killing at least 14 people.
Somalia's information minister, Farhan Mohamoud, denied claims that al-Shabab had taken control of several landmarks in the capital, including the national stadium, the defense ministry and a police station. He blamed the violence on foreign fighters within the insurgency.
Groups opposed to peace attacked government bases and Somali social centers, he said. These fighters want to turn the country over to foreigners. Somalis and the international community should realize that the leaders of the fighting are foreigners.
al-Shabab, in particular, has ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network, and Western governments have expressed concern about foreign terrorists using Somalia, much of which is under the control of al-Shabab, as a haven.
The Somali government has international backing but exercises little control on the ground. Under new president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist and a former insurgent leader, the government has been trying to reconcile with other Islamist factions, but has vowed to take a harder stance in recent weeks, as insurgents have continued to carry out attacks.
An al-Shabab leader, Ali Dheere Mohamud, said the government was beholden to its international backers.
The media claims the fighting is between Islamic fighters, he said, but that is wrong. It is between Islamic fighters and apostates who work for the Ugandan and Burundian troops who help the American and other Western governments. Their goal in the fighting is to eradicate Muslims from Somalia.
Four journalists were injured when a mortar struck the building where Mohamud was delivering the news conference.
About 4,300 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are deployed in the capital. Undermanned, they have had little success in stemming the violence, and have become an increasing target for insurgents, particularly since Ethiopian troops withdrew from the country in January.
Thousands have died, and an estimated one million have been displaced since the Islamist insurgency began in 2006, itself just the latest chapter of violence in a country that has been without a proper central government since 1991.
Last month, international donors pledged over $200 million to improve security in Somali.
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