Fighting flares up in Somalia
25/05/2006 12:45  - (SA)  

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Renewed Somali fighting kills 6 More bloodshed in Somalia 96 die in 4 days of clashes Somali unrest toll rises to 75 Somali fighting claims 35 'US supports Somali warlords'

Mogadishu - At least 38 people were killed on Thursday in renewed fighting in the Somali capital that sent thousands of frightened civilians running from their homes, medical officials and a militia commander said.

According to reports collected from the Somali capital's main hospitals, at least 30 people were killed when rival militias intensified fighting in Mogadishu on Thursday after a day's lull.

A resident who fled the area, Ahmed Ibrahim, said: "Three people have been killed and five wounded in clashes at K4 neighbourhood in south Mogadishu."

140 people killed

Other witnesses said that four people were killed and four others wounded in northern Sisi neighbourhood, but the real casualty figure there was still unclear because most civilians had fled the area after previous clashes.

The heavy fighting extended to southern Mogadishu from Sisi, which was the centre of clashes between the factions earlier this month in which more than 140 people, mainly civilians, were killed in the deadliest fighting Mogadishu had seen in years.

The fighting ended last week with the two sides observing a tenuous, unsigned truce.

Since then, Sisi had been divided into two sides with one controlled by gunmen loyal to Mogadishu's 11 Islamic courts and one by the warlord alliance.

Islamists deny charges

The fighting pits the Islamists against the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), which was set up in February with US backing to curb the growing influence of the courts and track down extremists, including al-Qaeda members, they were allegedly harbouring.

The Islamists denied the charges made by the militia, whose members included two other ministers in the transitional government as well as wealthy businessmen and several secular militia commanders.

Nore than 220 people had died in clashes between the two factions.

The Horn of Africa nation of some 10 million had been without a functioning central authority since the 1991 fall of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged it into anarchy, with warlords battling for control of a patchwork of fiefdoms.

More than a dozen attempted to restore stability had failed, and the government had been racked by infighting and were unable to assert control. - AFP/AP

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