Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, is witnessing a heavy fighting over the past four days. Almost 100 people have died and 200 have been wounded in the clashes, as health officials said yesterday. The battle between the Islamic Court Union and the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism has centered on the northern neighborhood of Sii-Sii. Many of the casualties are civilians caught in the crossfire. There was a temporary truce, but that did not last long. Islamic militia leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed called a unilateral truce on Tuesday in response to appeals from those affected by the violence. But his opponents said the truce was called because of a lack of ammunition. The warlords' alliance spokesman Hussein Gutale Rageh said they would only accept the ceasefire if their rivals withdrew from territory they have occupied during the fighting. The United Nations has appealed to both sides to halt the clashes. UN special representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall , appealed today for the rival militias to end the hostilities, saying they had created fear and chaos for civilians caught in the crossfire. Somalia has not had an effective national authority for 15 years after the ousting of longtime dictator President Siad Barre in 1991. A UN-backed transitional government has based itself in the central city of Baidoa , but has so far failed to assert itself elsewhere. Last week, Somalia President Abdullahi Yusuf accused the US of funding the coalition of warlords. The US government says it does support efforts to restore stability to Somalia but refuses to give details on who it backs and how. The alliance of warlords recently created the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism. It has an anti-terror task force based in nearby Djibouti. It accuses the Islamic courts of sheltering foreign al-Qaeda leaders.
Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, is witnessing a heavy fighting over the past four days. Almost 100 people have died and 200 have been wounded in the clashes, as health officials said yesterday. The battle between the and the has centered on the northern neighborhood of Sii-Sii. Many of the casualties are civilians caught in the crossfire. There was a temporary truce, but that did not last long. Islamic militia leader called a unilateral truce on Tuesday in response to appeals from those affected by the violence. But his opponents said the truce was called because of a lack of ammunition. The warlords' alliance spokesman Hussein Gutale Rageh said they would only accept the ceasefire if their rivals withdrew from territory they have occupied during the fighting. The United Nations has appealed to both sides to halt the clashes. UN special representative for Somalia, , appealed today for the rival militias to end the hostilities, saying they had created fear and chaos for civilians caught in the crossfire. Somalia has not had an effective national authority for 15 years after the ousting of longtime dictator President in 1991. A UN-backed transitional government has based itself in the central city of , but has so far failed to assert itself elsewhere. Last week, Somalia President accused the US of funding the coalition of warlords. The US government says it does support efforts to restore stability to Somalia but refuses to give details on who it backs and how. The alliance of warlords recently created the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism. It has an anti-terror task force based in nearby Djibouti. It accuses the Islamic courts of sheltering foreign al-Qaeda leaders.
R
Islamic Court Union and the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism
and the
D
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed
D
Francois Lonseny Fall
D
Siad Barre
D
Baidoa
D
Abdullahi Yusuf