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Mogadishu residents fear for safety
Uzbekistan News.Net
Monday 8th February, 2010
There have been more attacks linked to rebel and government forces in Mogadishu, Somalia.
The remaining residents in the capital have begun to flee, with new clashes expected between the opposing sides.
Most people fleeing the capital are said to be heading for a camp about 30 kilometres south of Mogadishu, where many other displaced people already live.
The Transitional Federal Government has already announced it will launch an offensive against the Islamist opposition, who already control much of Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia.
The Western-backed government has been promising to drive back the rebels, with the nation's foreign affairs minister suggesting the offensive will begin very soon.
Government army personnel are said to be in position for an attack, with al Shabab fighters also reinforcing their battle lines.
Some reports say the government forces have already begun to shell al-Shabab controlled areas, with some civilians killed in the shelling.  Email this story to a friend
Comments on this story
Anonymous
02-08-10, 10:41 PM |
Mogadishu preparing for battle
Send Galljdaj as the peace keeper between the fighting factions.He can do it instead bitching anf moaning about something.
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waltky
03-13-10, 10:53 PM |
Islamists continue violence in Somalia...
:mad:
Mogadishu residents told to leave
Friday, 12 March 2010 - Mogadishu’s mayor tells residents to leave parts of the Somali capital, as fierce fighting against insurgents continues.
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At least 50 people have been killed in three days of Islamist insurgent attacks, witnesses and officials say. Mayor Abdurisaq Mohamed Nor said the long-anticipated government offensive may start soon, so residents should withdraw at least 2km (1.25 miles). About half of Mogadishu’s residents have already fled the city after two decades of conflict.
The BBC’s Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says this is the heaviest fighting since May 2009, when insurgents tried to topple the weak UN-backed government. He says those still in the city have not yet responded to the mayor’s call.
“We urge the civilians to flee from the battle zones and go at least 2km away to avoid being hit," Mr Nor said. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that some 33,000 people have been driven from their homes in Mogadishu over the past six weeks.
'Trapped'
Our reporter says government forces are shelling insurgent front lines, to stop them advancing towards the few areas under control of government forces, who are backed by African Union peacekeepers. “My oldest son is still there to take care of the house and the property” - Adow Yusuf Da’ud
More [url:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/8563768.stm[/url]
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