Thousands flee Mogadishu, death toll hits 113

13/05/2009| IslamWeb

Thousands of residents fled bomb-blasted north Mogadishu on Tuesday where the worst fighting in months between opposition fighters and the government has killed at least 113 civilians, according to a rights group.

Al Shabaab fighters and the government have been battling for control of the capital and south Somalia, where 18 years of war has destabilized the region, created hundreds of thousands of refugees.

The Elman Peace and Human Rights Organization said clashes between Shabaab and pro-government forces had also wounded 330 people in the Horn of Africa state since the end of last week.

It said at least 27,000 civilians had fled the city.

The bloodshed has caused splits in both heavily armed sides: there was a deadly clash on Monday between police and soldiers, then a rift broke out in the opposition after a veteran warlord stoked rivalries between two fighting factions.

Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad, also known as "Inda'ade" or "white eyes," handed control of his hundreds of fighters and 19 battle wagons -- pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons -- to Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, another senior opposition leader.

That angered Shabaab leaders, who are also fighting the country's fragile new government.

Ethiopia sent thousands of troops into Somalia in late 2006 to crush the Islamic Courts Union led by Aweys and current President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, which ruled much of the south.

"Cleanse" Mogadishu

At stake in Somalia is control of Africa's longest coast. Apart from pirate ransom revenues, Somalia's main source of income comes from cattle exports to the Gulf, although experts say it may have interesting oil fields in the north.

Regional nations and outside powers have long battled for influence in Somalia, with its view of strategic shipping lanes linking Europe to Asia. Since 1991, it has suffered internal conflicts and occasional interventions by neighboring states after Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown.

The Shabaab, whose name means "Youth" in Arabic, said in a statement on Sunday that it planned to "cleanse" the capital.

"With permission from God, we will liberate Mogadishu sooner or later and cleanse it from these filthy people," it said, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group.

President Ahmed has accused the fighters of working for unnamed foreign nations to try to undermine his administration.

The U.N. envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, urged all parties on Tuesday to support the Western-backed government.

More than 16,000 civilians have been killed by fighting since the start of 2007, more than 1 million have been driven from their homes and about 3 million survive on food aid.

PHOTO CAPTION

Civilians fleeing Mogadishu, May 12, 2009.

Reuters