Somalis bury dead during lull in battles

MOGADISHU – Mogadishu residents buried their dead and ventured onto streets for the first time in five days yesterday during a lull in battles pitting Ethiopian and Somali troops against Islamist insurgents and clan militia.

But even as elders from the dominant Hawiye clan insisted a truce was in place, hundreds of Ethiopian reinforcements drove into Mogadishu from other parts of Somalia, witnesses said. One landmine exploded in south Mogadishu as a government convoy passed and there was sporadic gunfire.But the coastal capital was generally quieter after four days of ferocious fighting that residents say have killed several hundred people.The United Nations said 47 000 Somalis have fled Mogadishu in the last 10 days, making a total of 96 000 since February.”Last night was the first night I have slept since the war started,” said a clan militia fighter.”People see this as a chance to collect their belongings and get out.”International reaction to the flare-up in Somalia has been muted, with little from Western capitals beyond vague calls for reconciliation and condemnation of shelling of civilian areas.The International Contact Group on Somalia, which includes the United States, European and African nations, was due to meet in Cairo today.But analysts said foreign nations were increasingly at a loss how to handle Somalia.”They’ve supported African peacekeepers, but that’s made no difference.If anything, it’s inflamed the situation by giving the Islamists a sitting duck target,” said one diplomat.”Now they’re pinning their hope on a reconciliation meeting that looks doomed before it’s started,” he added of a planned April 16 meeting of elders, politicians and former warlords.With dozens of rotting bodies still in the streets, it was impossible to calculate an exact death toll from what the Red Cross called Mogadishu’s worst fighting in more than 15 years.Nampa-ReutersOne landmine exploded in south Mogadishu as a government convoy passed and there was sporadic gunfire.But the coastal capital was generally quieter after four days of ferocious fighting that residents say have killed several hundred people.The United Nations said 47 000 Somalis have fled Mogadishu in the last 10 days, making a total of 96 000 since February.”Last night was the first night I have slept since the war started,” said a clan militia fighter.”People see this as a chance to collect their belongings and get out.”International reaction to the flare-up in Somalia has been muted, with little from Western capitals beyond vague calls for reconciliation and condemnation of shelling of civilian areas.The International Contact Group on Somalia, which includes the United States, European and African nations, was due to meet in Cairo today.But analysts said foreign nations were increasingly at a loss how to handle Somalia.”They’ve supported African peacekeepers, but that’s made no difference.If anything, it’s inflamed the situation by giving the Islamists a sitting duck target,” said one diplomat.”Now they’re pinning their hope on a reconciliation meeting that looks doomed before it’s started,” he added of a planned April 16 meeting of elders, politicians and former warlords.With dozens of rotting bodies still in the streets, it was impossible to calculate an exact death toll from what the Red Cross called Mogadishu’s worst fighting in more than 15 years.Nampa-Reuters