Wednesday, December 20, 2006
NAIROBI, 20 Dec 2006 (IRIN) - Scores of people were fleeing their homes near the southern Somali town of Baidoa on Wednesday after fighting broke out between forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), officials from both sides said.
The fighting, which began on Tuesday, coincided with the arrival on Wednesday of the European Commissioner (EC) for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, who is in the country to mediate between the two sides.
Michel led an EC delegation to Baidoa, where the TFG is based, for talks with President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. He later travelled to the capital, Mogadishu, for discussions with the UIC leadership.
Michel's spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj, said from Baidoa that Michel was "deeply concerned about the current escalation of violence, its effects on civilians and its impact on the whole Horn of Africa region". On the talks in Baidoa, he added: "They were positive towards the initiative of Commissioner Michel of a memorandum establishing a ceasefire and resumption of talks.
"The situation on the ground does not provide for much optimism on Michel's initiative, which is supported by IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] and the League of Arab States, as well as our EU member states," he added. "But this was also an objective of this mission: to check the degree of commitment of all parties to political dialogue."
The fighting, which erupted as Michel met the president and prime minister, continued on two fronts on Wednesday - in Iidale village, 55 km south of Baidoa, and later in Buulo Jadid, 23 km north of Baidoa, according to a local resident in Buur Hakaba, 60 km north of Baidoa.
"We are seeing people arrive in Buur who fled areas close to the fighting," he said.
Spokesmen for both the UIC and the TFG claimed they had an upper hand in the fighting. "I confirm to you that fighting is going on as we speak," Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali, the UIC Vice-Chairman, told IRIN on Wednesday. "Our forces were attacked by a combined force."
The TFG deputy defence minister, Salad Ali Jelle, said: "We are fighting on two fronts [south and north of Baidoa]. It is now an open war and our forces have been given orders to attack on all fronts." He blamed the UIC for starting the fighting.
Neither the UIC nor the TFG gave any casualty figures but admitted the numbers of dead and wounded could be high. The UIC said it had taken control of the strategic village of Daynuunay to the north of Baidoa.
A resident of Baidoa, who requested anonymity, said other skirmishes erupted when "two reconnaissance teams clashed". He added: "It is now an all-out war. They are now trading heavy weapons fire."
The heaviest fighting, he added, was taking place in Manaas, 30 km southwest of Baidoa, and in Bullo Jadid.
Humanitarian agencies have warned that an all-out war in Somalia would have disastrous consequences, especially when the country is facing the impact of flooding. Up to 454,500 people are estimated to have been displaced by floods countrywide, particularly in the Juba and Shabelle riverine regions, after heavy rains in September-November in Somalia and Ethiopia.
The TFG was installed in late 2004 in an effort to bring peace and security to the Horn of Africa country, which has not had an effective government for 16 years. In June this year, the UIC defeated the warlords who had controlled Mogadishu since 1991, after the collapse of the regime led by Muhammad Siyad Barre. The UIC has since extended its authority to large areas in the south and central regions of the country.
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[ENDS]
Source: IRIN, Dec 20, 2006