Bullets Fly Around Plans For Reconciliation

By Joyce Mulama

NAIROBI, 5 Apr 2007 - Prospects for a national reconciliation conference planned for Somalia appeared increasingly dim this week, as the capital -- Mogadishu -- was left reeling after fighting said to be the fiercest in 15 years.

Hundreds are believed to have been killed and wounded in the clashes, which pitted forces of the interim government, backed by Ethiopian troops, against supporters of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and members of the Hawiye. The latter is the main clan in the capital.

The UIC controlled large parts of southern Somalia until December 2006, when it was ousted by the Ethiopian forces, reportedly with support from the United States -- which accuses the union of having links with al Qaeda. This came after months of tension between the Islamic grouping and the transitional federal government, which had been unable to extend its influence beyond the southern town of Baidoa.

On Wednesday, government officials attempted to put a brave face on developments in their country while briefing reporters in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

"The government is doing its best to stop the fighting and bring peace to Somalia," said Mohammed Ali Nur, Somalia's ambassador to Kenya.

"We believe people will reconcile and that we will have peace sooner (rather) than later. We are sure the conference will bring a positive effect," he added, in reference to the national reconciliation conference, set for Apr. 16 in Mogadishu.

Nur also told reporters that Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting with President Abdillahi Yusuf, cabinet and clan leaders to chart a way out of the current crisis: "The meeting, particularly with the clan leaders, is important. Clan elders can talk to their members, to observe peace in the whole of Somalia."

This week, a fragile truce was declared to allow the bodies of those killed to be cleared from the streets.

According to the Somalia bureau of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the past few days have seen "indiscriminate heavy artillery and mortar shells rained down on the city, hitting residential areas and resulting in a large but as of yet unresolved number of deaths and casualties."

A Ugandan soldier who formed part of the African Union (AU) peace-keeping mission to Somalia, AMISOM, was killed Sunday, and five more seriously wounded. AU states have pledged to send 8,000 troops to Somalia; but to date, only 1,500 Ugandan forces have been deployed. The troops arrived in the Horn of Africa nation last month.

The OCHA statement also noted that "A hospital accommodating wounded and sick was reportedly hit on 30 March, killing one person and injuring others, while other health facilities are saturated with patients. Trapped by the fighting, many wounded are unable to access medical facilities and lie unattended in the streets."

Mogadishu resident Salad Jiimale is one of those affected by the fighting. His house was hit during a mortar attack that claimed the life of one child, and resulted in two others being wounded.

"I took them to a hospital, but they could not be admitted because of lack of space. They are being kept and treated outside the hospital compound with minimal supervision. Drugs and all support have run out and I do not know what to do," he told IPS from the Somali capital.

The situation has deteriorated to the point where many feel they have no option but to flee.

"Thousands have been running since the heavy fighting erupted. Vehicles carrying those fleeing leave Mogadishu; some people are running on foot and carrying their belongings on the heads or backs, or are pulling carts," recounted a journalist in Mogadishu who works for a foreign news agency.

"A few have taken flights to Somaliland (northwestern Somalia). There are no camps prepared by (aid) agencies for fleeing people; the few lucky ones have been accommodated in towns outside Mogadishu. There are thousands who are living under trees; one family shares one tree."

According to OCHA, almost 100,000 people have fled Mogadishu since the start of February. And, "The number continues to increase on a daily basis. Lack of access to the city and its surroundings due to the fighting has severely hampered humanitarian partners from scaling up the response to meet the vast needs."

Somalia was plunged into conflict in 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre was toppled. Clan-based faction leaders fought for control of the country after his departure, carving Somalia up into fiefdoms.

Several attempts to restore order to Somalia ended in failure. However two years of talks in Kenya conducted under the auspices of the Inter Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) resulted in the interim government, which was inaugurated in 2004.

The government's reliance on forces from Ethiopia has put it at odds with many Somalis, who have a deep distrust of the neighboring state. Somalia and Ethiopia have a history of grievances.

A meeting of the International Contact Group on Somalia in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Tuesday resolved to provide "logistical and technical support to the AU and troop contributing countries to facilitate the full deployment of AMISOM leading to the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in Somalia,", amongst others.

Formed last June, the group includes representatives from various African and European countries, and the United States -- as well as from the U.N., AU, European Union, IGAD, and the League of Arab States.

Source: IPS

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