Somali factions re-group
2006-06-01 13:50
Mogadishu - Fighting between Islamic militia and a US-backed warlord alliance subsided in the lawless Somali capital on Thursday, but tension remained high as the factions re-grouped after deadly clashes.
Stung by the loss on Wednesday of a key position in northeast Mogadishu, the alliance reinforced a base north of the city with fighters drawn from a warlord who controls the town of Jowhar, about 90km away.
Witnesses said it appeared the gunmen in Balad, some 30km north of the capital, were preparing to attack Islamists at El-Irfid, a village on Mogadishu's northern outskirts.
"We are getting word the warlords have been reinforced from Jowhar and are planning to raid El-Irfid, but we are well prepared," said Mustafa Ali, a official with one of the city's 11 Islamic courts.
Sporadic gunfire
In the city itself, sporadic gunfire could be heard around the north-eastern neighbourhood of Sukahola, where the Islamists seized alliance positions in well-coordinated attacks on Wednesday, residents said.
A day after the two sides pounded each other with heavy machine gun, rocket and artillery fire, the area was tense but generally violence free, although the death toll from Wednesday's clashes rose by three to 10, they said.
"Apart from the sporadic gunfire, Sukahola is relatively calm," said resident Abdulahmed Noor, who like others expressed deep concern about a resumption in battles.
"We fear fighting could erupt at anytime because the gunmen have not moved from the frontlines," said Sukahola resident Amina Mohamed.
Death toll rises
Hospital sources said the death toll from Wednesday's clashes rose when three of the at least 11 people wounded, succumbed to their injuries overnight.
The new fatalities brought to at least 72 the number of people killed in the most recent round of clashes that began last Wednesday, worsened on Thursday and exploded on Saturday, when 30 people died.
More than 300 people have been killed and more than 1 500 wounded, many of them civilians, since the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) and the Islamic courts began battling in February.