Somali fighters seize another town

19/05/2009| IslamWeb

Hizbul Islam, a Somali opposition group fighting government forces and African Union peacekeepers, have closed in on Somalia's capital, after seizing a strategically important town north of Mogadishu.

Hizbul Islam fighters marched into the town of Mahaday on Monday, a day after fighters from another group captured the nearby town of Jowhar.

"We have captured the town peacefully," Hassan Mahdi, Hizbul Islam's spokesman, told the Reuters news agency.

Mahaday, 23km north of Jowhar, the home town of Sharif Ahmed, the Somali president, was captured by "masked Islamists", Fatima Hussein, a resident, said.

"They are not speaking to anyone ... there was no fighting, the pro-government forces left last night."

Abdiqadir Osman, a spokesman for Somalia's president, confirmed that there had been no fighting in Mahaday.

"Our troops were not defeated. No fighting took place," he said.

"We have withdrawn from the city because of military tactics and will return to it when we want to."

Losing ground

The Somali government has been losing ground in recent weeks and now controls little more than the centre of the capital, Mogadishu, with the support of African Union troops.

Hizbul Islam has pledged to fight AU troops in Somalia until they leave the country and topple Sharif Ahmed, the president.

Situation 'scandalous'

The clashes between government forces and opposition fighters have forced many Somalis to flee west across the border into Kenya.

A charity said on Monday more than 270,000 refugees in Kenya were facing alarming shortages of food, water and shelter in overcrowded camps.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said up to 5,000 people were arriving every month at three camps in Kenya's Dadaab area.

"The situation is simply scandalous," Joke Van Peteghem, the MSF head of mission in Kenya, said.

"These refugees have risked everything to escape the fighting in Somalia. Now some are telling us they would rather take their chances in Mogadishu than die slowly here."

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown by armed groups who then turned on each other.

PHOTO CAPTION

A member from the Hizbul Islam fighters near the presidential palace in Mogadishu on May 14, 2009.

Al-Jazeera