HARGEYSA GOES TO WAR!
Somalia News Update (Uppsala, November 21) - Fighting erupted in the capital of the self-proclaimed Somaliland Republic last week. A government declaration describes the events as triggered by the same gang of ex-SNM militias that controlled the Hargeysa airport until government troops regained control of the airport in October.
The rebel group, most of whom come from the Idagalle sub-clan, regrouped some 50 kilometres from Hargeysa, close to the Ethiopian border. From their camp they started mounting armed incursions into neighbouring civilian areas. On Monday, November 12, government forces attacked and captured the camp and all the ordinance of the militia group with it. Also fourteen artillery pieces, one "technical" and two trucks were captured in the camp. The group then fled with their remaining six vehicles mounted with various heavy guns.
Pursued by government forces, at least two rebel vehicles entered Hargeysa where they reportedly opened fire on a crowd at a busy market and attempted to rob a bank.
The government declaration admitted that the rebels rapidly gained an upper hand in the Hargeysa fighting but accredit this to the restraint displayed by government forces in order not to jeapordize civilian lives. Despite such efforts at least 60 to 70 civilians are estimated to have been killed in the fighting.
On Wednesday last week Hargeysa was reported calm but telecommunication lines remained unreliable throughout the weekend. The rebels are said to have received some support from the local community in Hargeysa but it is unknown to what extent and from what clans. Two days after the first fighting at the rebel camp, Idagalle elders published an invitation for a conference in the independent Hargeysa newspaper Xoriya.
At present, government troops are said to be conducting search operations throughout Hargeysa in order to capture hidden rebels and confiscate their weapons.
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