'Worst battle' leaves 60 dead

2006-05-26 15:29

Mogadishu - Fighters loyal to an Islamic militia and their secular rivals manoeuvred heavily armed trucks around city streets and reinforced their position in Somalia's capital on Friday, after a battle that residents said was the worst fighting in 14 years.

Dr Abdi Ibrahim Jiya of the Somali doctors association put the death toll at 60, with more than 150 people wounded in Thursday's battle.

Militiamen from the Islamic Courts Union, which wants Somalia to be ruled by Qur'anic law, made a rare foray into southern and eastern parts of the capital.

They captured a strategic road junction - known as K4 - in the centre of the city.

They also seized the historic Sahafi Hotel, owned by a member of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-terrorism.

The alliance charges that the self-appointed Islamic court leaders have links to al-Qaeda. The Islamic militants accuse the alliance of working for the CIA.

140 dead in eight days

United States officials have repeatedly refused to confirm or deny any association with the alliance.

The Islamic fundamentalists portray themselves as an alternative force capable of bringing order to the country, embroiled in clan fighting and without a real government since warlords overthrew long-time ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

The two sides engaged in fierce fighting in northern Mogadishu earlier this month. More than 140 people killed in eight days.

The two sides signed a ceasefire, but renewed fighting began in northern Mogadishu on Wednesday. At least six people were killed.

Residents leave their homes

The violence spread on Thursday. Thousands of civilians fled their homes on foot, some with children on their backs, trying not to get caught in the crossfire or struck by stray rockets, shells and bullets.

Among those fleeing were residents who had left their homes in northern Mogadishu when fighting broke out earlier this month.

Overnight, the Islamic militia consolidated their gains from Thursday's fighting, and built up defensive positions in anticipation of a counterattack by the alliance.

Scattered gunfire mixed with the explosion of mortar rounds throughout the night, but the city was relatively quiet on Friday morning.

A United Nations-backed government, based in the central city of Baidoa, 250km northwest of Mogadishu, has not been able to assert authority elsewhere in the country, in part because of infighting.

- AP