At least 67 killed in Mogadishu fighting

MOGADISHU – Somalia’s last secular warlord in Mogadishu surrendered on Monday to Islamic militants after rival Somali fighters pounded each other with heavy artillery in a two-day battle leaving at least 67 dead.

The extremists said that they had captured the headquarters of Abdi Hassan Awale Qeydiid, and that his fighters had begun handing over their weapons. The Islamists said Sunday they had taken full control of the Somali capital after declaring victory over Qeydiid and fellow warlord and transitional government member Hussein Aidid.But heavy fighting resumed on Monday with a deadly artillery battle after Qeydiid refused to surrender.The warlord said he was first provoked by the Islamists who dislodged him from his territory in Afgoi, about 30 kilometres southwest of the capital on June 27.”I am defending myself from aggression that has been waged towards my team since June 27,” he said earlier before his surrender.On Sunday, the Islamists attacked the warlord’s positions, sparking clashes that forced Qeydiid to flee his tiny stronghold, only to reappear again on Monday despite an announcement from the Islamists that they had rid the capital of warlords.At least 28 people were killed Monday, including civilians hit by stray rounds of machine gunfire, mortar and rockets, residents and militia commanders told AFP.This brought to at least 67 the number killed since fighting erupted on Sunday.”The fighting will continue until Qeydiid surrenders and obeys the (orders) of God, which says power should be given to those who fear Allah,” said Ahmed Farah, an Islamist commander.A local resident who drove some of the injured to hospital said: “Two civilians passed away steps before they reached Medina hospital, while four other militiamen died in the vicinity.””People are getting difficult to reach hospitals because of a lack of car movements, and road blocks set up by the rival militia,” said Abdi Ibrahim Jiya, a local doctor.Residents said city streets remained abandoned for fear of sniper fire.In Nairobi, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni, both members of the seven-nation east African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), called on the international community to help deploy peacekeepers.In recent weeks, IGAD officials have complained that the international community, especially Western powers, have been non-committal over the Somali conflict, thus complicating regional efforts to restore a functional government here.The latest unrest brings the toll to at least 427 dead and more than 2 100 wounded in fighting which first erupted on February 18 when Washington formed a warlords’ alliance and assigned it to curb the growing influence of the Islamists, accused of links to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network and harbouring foreign fighters.But the Islamists, who control swathes of southern Somalia, vanquished the US-backed warlords, routing them from the capital on June 5.The imposition by Islamists of Sharia law across the overwhelmingly moderate Muslim country has led many to see it as a direct challenge to Somalia’s largely powerless transitional government in Baidoa, about 250 kilometres from Mogadishu.Stung by loss of territorial control, Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aidid, also a warlord whose fighters have been ousted, demanded the Islamists abandon territories they seized in Mogadishu and be excluded from peace talks with the government, expected to resume in Khartoum on Saturday.Instead, he said the government was ready to meet other branches of the Islamic courts, such as civil groups and businessmen who were not involved the violence.US officials have described the Islamists’ increasing control as “creeping Talibanisation”, including public executions, banning bands at wedding parties, public whippings, outlawing Western and Indian films, and making it compulsory to perform daily prayers.- Nampa-AFPThe Islamists said Sunday they had taken full control of the Somali capital after declaring victory over Qeydiid and fellow warlord and transitional government member Hussein Aidid.But heavy fighting resumed on Monday with a deadly artillery battle after Qeydiid refused to surrender.The warlord said he was first provoked by the Islamists who dislodged him from his territory in Afgoi, about 30 kilometres southwest of the capital on June 27.”I am defending myself from aggression that has been waged towards my team since June 27,” he said earlier before his surrender.On Sunday, the Islamists attacked the warlord’s positions, sparking clashes that forced Qeydiid to flee his tiny stronghold, only to reappear again on Monday despite an announcement from the Islamists that they had rid the capital of warlords.At least 28 people were killed Monday, including civilians hit by stray rounds of machine gunfire, mortar and rockets, residents and militia commanders told AFP.This brought to at least 67 the number killed since fighting erupted on Sunday.”The fighting will continue until Qeydiid surrenders and obeys the (orders) of God, which says power should be given to those who fear Allah,” said Ahmed Farah, an Islamist commander.A local resident who drove some of the injured to hospital said: “Two civilians passed away steps before they reached Medina hospital, while four other militiamen died in the vicinity.””People are getting difficult to reach hospitals because of a lack of car movements, and road blocks set up by the rival militia,” said Abdi Ibrahim Jiya, a local doctor.Residents said city streets remained abandoned for fear of sniper fire.In Nairobi, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni, both members of the seven-nation east African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), called on the international community to help deploy peacekeepers.In recent weeks, IGAD officials have complained that the international community, especially Western powers, have been non-committal over the Somali conflict, thus complicating regional efforts to restore a functional government here.The latest unrest brings the toll to at least 427 dead and more than 2 100 wounded in fighting which first erupted on February 18 when Washington formed a warlords’ alliance and assigned it to curb the growing influence of the Islamists, accused of links to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network and harbouring foreign fighters.But the Islamists, who control swathes of southern Somalia, vanquished the US-backed warlords, routing them from the capital on June 5.The imposition by Islamists of Sharia law across the overwhelmingly moderate Muslim country has led many to see it as a direct challenge to Somalia’s largely powerless transitional government in Baidoa, about 250 kilometres from Mogadishu.Stung by loss of territorial control, Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aidid, also a warlord whose fighters have been ousted, demanded the Islamists abandon territories they seized in Mogadishu and be excluded from peace talks with the government, expected to resume in Khartoum on Saturday.Instead, he said the government was ready to meet other branches of the Islamic courts, such as civil groups and businessmen who were not involved the violence.US officials have described the Islamists’ increasing control as “creeping Talibanisation”, including public executions, banning bands at wedding parties, public whippings, outlawing Western and Indian films, and making it compulsory to perform daily prayers.- Nampa-AFP