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Somalia: Mogadishu ready for more bloodshed
Thu. April 27, 2006 08:14 am. -
Mohamed Abdi
(SomaliNet) In midst of daily verbal attacks exchanged by rival sides struggling for the control the capital Mogadishu through local media, there are intensive movements for wagging fresh fighting in the battle destroyed city of Mogadishu.
Mogadishu residents most of whom live from hand to mouth are in dreadful stage for fearing to resume war in the city since the power struggling rival sides; Union of Islamic courts and anti terror alliance and peace restoration.
"Both Islamist groups and the so-called alliance for anti terror have nothing to do with us but killing" Abbas Yusuf, one of Mogadishu inhabitants said while talking to Somalinet correspondent on Thursday.
Mr. Abbas is father of four and runs small business in Bakar market, one of the biggest markets in Somalia since the collapse of former regime in 1991.
"I daily search what to feed my children and cover the needs of my family and what worries me everyday is about renewed fighting in the city, many of my neighbours already fled to neighbouring countries like Kenya and Ethiopia for the fear of the war," he said "I don’t know what to do, I hear every day the sounds of small skirmishes in some parts of the capital,".
Long survey by Somalinet to departure scenes in the Mogadishu show that many of the civilians in the city are leaving for safety, for instance in the private flight companies in Mogadishu, the ticket order doubled in these days and more people were in queue for booking to flee to outside the country.
One employee of one of the private flight firms who asked not to be identified said the price of tickets remain normal but if the war tension intensifies it might get higher. "We receive more passengers than before," he said.
The rival sides in Mogadishu now conduct war waging and collecting more weapons as their activities grow more in the capital.
Seeking to curb the clerics' growing power, some warlords and businessmen formed an armed coalition, the Alliance for Restoration of Peace and Counter Terrorism.
Reliable sources close to counter terrorism alliance say the anti terror alliance was preparing for all out war to defeat what they called "terrorist cells in the country".
Some reports say that the alliance bought more pick up trucks to mount heavy machines and has been recruiting new fighters, including members of clan militias, promising them payments of $250 a month.
The symptoms of the current tension created by the opposing sides show that Mogadishu is going to experience more bloodshed.
Islamic fighters are seeking to boost the power of a group of fundamentalist clerics who have been trying to assert themselves as military and political force in the country.
Western intelligence agencies and analysts have warned of a "creeping Talibanization" of Somalia with Islamic courts filling the power vacuum and potentially harboring terrorists and training foreign fighters.
At least 100 people have been killed in combat and skirmishes that began a day after the alliance was formed on 18 February.
On April 19, radical Islamic clerics declared a holy war against the alliance and appealed for people to join the ranks of the Islamist force.
Somalia has had no effective central authority since the 1991 ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged the country into anarchy with militia loyal to various warlords vying for control of a patchwork of regions.
A transitional government set up two years ago has been beset by infighting and has thus far failed to assert itself nationwide, leading to concerns that Somalia has little hope of emerging from its current plight situation.
News Category: Somalia
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