[Marxism] Conflct grows between warlords and Islamists in Somali capital -- US role seems likely

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

US militry nvolvement in the attack on the Islamists in Somalia should
be assumed, and the possibility of French and Italian involvement also
considered possible.  This fits with the recently revealed US rule in
combatting Islamists in Chad.  The likelihood is high that the Islamists
represent a more progressive, national force in the country in this
battle, with stronger roots among the urban poor.
Fred Feldman

Violence spirals in Somalia
by
Saturday 25 March 2006 5:23 PM GMT



<http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/rdonlyres/3D3146F3-5C13-4372-B418-F6155
3F6CE49/117719/F5099B2F58A14D04AE333E941A47D13F.jpg>    
Mogadishu is scarred by heavy fighting between rival militia    


Warring factions have clashed for the fourth consecutive day in the
north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, as heavy gun battles claimed
five more lives, bringing the death toll to 52 and more than 200
injured.


Eyewitnesses and medics on Saturday reported unabated violence and a
climbing death toll.



"Warring militamen in the capital are fighting heavily for the fourth
day and there is no sign of calm," said Ahmed Mohamed Jumale, a resident
in Galagalato, a neighbourhood of Karan district in northern Mogadishu
where the rival fighters are engaged in battle.



Jumale said that the gunmen intensified fighting in order to inflict
more casualties on either side before darkness. He said that "the
serious fighting erupted at noon".



A nurse at Kaisaney Surgical Hospital said that the main medical
facility near the battle ground had received 139 casualties since
Wednesday when the fighting began, some of whom were treated and
discharged.



"Five died in our hospital of the injuries they sustained. The rest were
treated and left, while some stayed for further treatment," said the
nurse, who asked not to be named.



Kaisaney is the largest war hospital in Somalia, funded by the
International Committee of the Red Cross and run by the Somali Red
Crescent Society.



Fight over land, ideology





"Warring militamen in the capital are fighting heavily for the fourth
day and there is no sign of calm"

Ahmed Mohamed Jumale,
Galagalato resident

The fighting was sparked by a row over land ownership in which one
militia leader, Abukar Omar Adan, attempted to grab the piece of land
attached to the Aisaley airport north of the capital and that is
controlled by rival warlord Bashir Raghe Shirar.



The two men belong to the Warsangale sub-clan of Abgal within the larger
Hawiye which is dominant in Mogadishu and its surroundings, but they
have different political affiliations.



Adan is allied to the Islamic courts of Mogadishu, which control pockets
of the lawless capital, while Shirar is a co-founder of the Alliance for
the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT).



The ARPCT, a coalition of warlords which was formed last month, aims to
curb the influence of Islamic extremism in Somalia, while the Islamic
militia say they want to maintain law and order.



Seizing control of the disputed piece of land would give Adan strategic
means to control the roads leading to the natural port of Elmaan, which
became the busiest port after the closure of Mogadishu's main port in
1995 over a revenue dispute among warlords.



Conflicting reports





<http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/rdonlyres/3D3146F3-5C13-4372-B418-F6155
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Somalia has lacked an effective
government since 1991

Adan's spokesman claimed that their side had taken full control of
Aisaley airport and its surroundings and urged residents there to return
to their homes.



"Now we fully control the airport and we inform the residents in the
area to be calm and return to their homes," said the spokesman, asking
to remain anonymous.



But Shirar denied the claims by his rivals. "The allegations are
unfounded," he said. "Undeniably the area is highly contested by both
sides, but there has been no change of hands at the airport. This is
true and cannot be denied."



Lawlessness



At least 33 people were killed, hundreds wounded and thousands displaced
when similar groups clashed in southern Mogadishu last month.



Somalia has lacked an effective government since the 1991 overthrow of
President Mohamed Siad Barre and has since then been wrecked by chronic
unrest with warlords and rival militias fighting for control of unruly
fiefdoms.

AFP
By

You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3D3146F3-5C13-4372-B418-F61553F6C
E49.htm

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