By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN | Associated Press
July 9, 2006
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – Islamic militia fighters on Sunday attacked an enclave of rival clan militiamen supporting a secular warlord who refused to disarm, witnesses and officials said, as the Islamists consolidate their control over the Somali capital.
At least 15 bodies and 20 wounded were taken to the Al Hikma, Medina and Shifo hospitals, said Dr. Abdi Ibrahim Jiya, who works as a surgeon at the three facilities. At least four other dead bodies were seen lying on the ground, witnesses said. There was no immediate information on casualties at other hospitals.
The increasingly radical Islamic fighters captured some ground during the fighting in which both sides used artillery, mortars, trucks mounted with heavy weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, said Abdirahim Adow, secretary to the head of the Islamic group’s executive council, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed.
The battle erupted two days after Islamic fighters sealed off roads leading to an enclave controlled by the Sa’ad clan fighters who were trying to reinforce their positions after declaring support for warlord Adbi Awale Qaybdiid _ a member of an alliance of secular warlords who lost out when the Islamic group wrested control of Mogadishu in June.
Sunday’s fighting began shortly after dawn prayers, when about 200 Islamic fighters attacked militiamen loyal to Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aidid, whose forces were reinforcing fellow Sa’ad clan fighters.
Hundreds of people fled their homes to escape the ferocious, door-to-door fighting.
“We were trapped inside our home for three hours, we could not even stand up” because stray bullets were flying everywhere, Said Yahye, whose house was destroyed in the battle soon after he left with his three children, told The Associated Press.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since the warlords turned on each other, carving much of the country into armed camps ruled by violence and clan law. Islamic fundamentalists have stepped into the vacuum, projecting themselves as an alternative military and political power.
They set up a militia force to enforce their interpretation of Islam and formed a court system that helped desperate Somalis settle disputes.
But the group has grown increasingly radical, forbidding movies, television and now music entertainment in line with their strict interpretation of Islam. The Supreme Islamic Courts Council has expanded its control to other parts of southern Somalia.
A recruiting video issued by its members and obtained by The AP shows Arab radicals fighting alongside the local extremists in Mogadishu. And it invites Muslims from around the world to join in their “holy jihad.”
The video, similar to those produced by Islamic extremists in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, provides the first hard evidence that non-Somalis have joined with Islamic extremists in Somalia. The group has repeatedly denied links to extremists such as al-Qaida.
Source: AP, July 9, 2006
