Major Clan War Feared in Kismayo, Somalia

[Castro]

By Alisha Ryu

Nairobi

22 June 2007

 

In another major setback for international efforts to bring peace to Somalia, a violent power struggle between two sub-clans in the port city of Kismayo is fueling fear that an all-out clan war could erupt at any time and destabilize a key region of southern Somalia. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

 

After days of skirmishes between ******* and ********* sub-clan militias in the country's third-largest city, residents of Kismayo say heavy fighting erupted on Friday, killing and wounding dozens of people.

 

The ******* and the ********* belong to the larger ***** clan, recognized as one of the four major clans in Somalia.

 

A Somali aid worker in Kismayo, Ali Bashi, tells VOA that the militiamen of both sub-clans are technically Somali government troops and government supporters, who are nevertheless bitterly divided along clan lines.

 

Bashi says Friday's clash in Kismayo between the ******* and the ********* follows a battle the two sides fought on April 23.

 

After the battle, ********* soldiers withdrew from Kismayo to the town of Bulo Gadud, 35 kilometers away, leaving the city and its strategic port in the hands of the *******.

 

In recent days, ********* troops have been seen moving closer to Kismayo. On Thursday, at least four people were wounded when one group of clan militiamen attacked another.

 

The *******'s grip on Kismayo appears now to have tightened. VOA has learned that ******* troops entered Bulo Gadud on Friday and declared victory over the ********* sub-clan.

 

Since the 1990s, Kismayo has been the center of various ***** sub-clan power struggles.

 

But the latest fighting has many Somalis concerned that interim President Abdullahi Yusuf, who is a ********* and kinsman to the soldiers defeated by the *******, could launch a retaliatory strike against the ******* and start a major clan war.

 

Since capturing the Somali capital, Mogadishu, from Islamist forces in late December, President Yusuf's Ethiopian and western-backed government has promised to end clan politics and unify the country after 16 years of civil war.

 

But many Somalis in the capital and elsewhere say clan divisions recently have become sharper than ever, and they accuse top government leaders of manipulating those divisions to benefit their own clans and sub-clans.

 

Meanwhile, a government-imposed nighttime curfew in Mogadishu went into effect on Friday. The government says the curfew is necessary to curb attacks by insurgents who have targeted government officials, Somali police, and Ethiopian troops.

 

In recent weeks, Ethiopian and Somali troops have searched businesses and houses throughout the capital, confiscating several truckloads of munitions and weapons, including land mines, mortars, rockets, and missiles.

VOA

[Castro]

A Somali aid worker in Kismayo, Ali Bashi, tells VOA that

the militiamen of both sub-clans are technically Somali government troops and government supporters, who are nevertheless bitterly divided along clan lines.

But many Somalis in the capital and elsewhere say

clan divisions recently have become sharper than ever, and they accuse top government leaders of manipulating those divisions to benefit their own clans and sub-clans.

Live by the clan and you die by the clan.

[Castro]

Clan fight breaks out for control of Somali port city

 

AP

Published: June 23, 2007, 00:05

 

Kismayo, Somalia: Clans using anti-aircraft missiles and machine guns battled for control of this strategic port city yesterday, killing at least seven people and wounding 11.

 

The fighting between the *****ten and ******* clans broke out about 19 kilometers north of Kis-mayo, the third largest city in Somalia. Both clans have fought for Somalia's government in the past, but their long-standing clan disputes have taken precedence over their loyalty to the administration in recent months.

 

"We have ejected criminals who were ambushing travellers from the Kismayo-Mogadishu road," said Hassan Mohammad Ali, a ******* clan elder. "We are still chasing them."

 

Still battling

 

Insurgents, along with clan militiamen, have been battling government and allied Ethiopian forces since they drove out the Council of Islamic Courts from Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia six months ago.

 

Kismayo was the last major town held by the Council of Islamic Courts.

 

The government announced a nightly curfew in the capital after a violent week in which at least 10 people were killed there, including four who died when a masked man hurled a hand grenade into a busy market. Police closed the market and were searching for weapons yesterday, witnesses said.

 

Also yesterday, two government soldiers were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was targeted by a roadside bomb near the seaport, according to Police Chief Colonel Ali Said.

AP

[Jacaylbaro]

dadkan cid dhex gashaa ma jito miyaa "???

[Castro]

^^^^ If the Gedo boys join the resistance and turn on the occupation and the puppet regime, I'll start cheering for them. Until then, labada dhinacba futado ha go'do.

[Jacaylbaro]

waar ka daa ,,,,,, dad baa dhimanayee

[Allamagan]

JB, nabad waa diideen, wadahadal waa diideen. Waxay rabeen oomeesha la soo taagnaayeen annagaa iska leh magaalada, idinku ka baxa, dowladeena aa iska leh, aabo Yey aa nasoo diray, maamulkeena annagaa wadano. War ka daaya, war u kaadsha, nabdii diide, deedna washamis aa lagu qaaday sowta la waayeyba, wataas haka xaaxaabshaan.

[Jacaylbaro]

war never ends ,,,, starting a war is very easy but ending it is almost impossible ,,,,

 

Meeshan cid dhexdhexaading gasha waa in la raadiyo sidani si maahee ,,,,

[Allamagan]

^^ Waaba iska dhamaatayba hadda xaaladu waa caadi.

Originally posted by Castro:

^^^^ If the Gedo boys join the resistance and turn on the occupation and the puppet regime, I'll start cheering for them. Until then, labada dhinacba futado ha go'do.

Castro, umalaynmayo in reer Gedo YEY wax ka sugayaan ama raacsan yihii dowlad uu horjooge ka yahay. reerahani dowlad kusheegta kuma jiraan, mana raacsana balse game-ka Yeey lala cayaarayo ayaa ah in marnaba afkoodu ka soo bixin dowlada waanu ka soo horjeednaa, you know amhaaro fighter jets & tanks start rolling towards the city, saan aa qoraxda loogu ridaa...

[Castro]

^^^^ Saaxib waan ku fahmay laakiin dantaydaa ii daran is not a good argument. If the Gedo folks are telling Yey what he wants to hear and then turning around to fight his men, they'll have to make up their mind at some point. Yey can simply ask: "are you with me or are you against me?" Or he may just ask the Ethiopians to bomb them into submission. It looks like this cat is out of the bag and if the Gedo boys don't form alliances quick, they'll find themselves bleeding alone under Ethiopian boots.

[General Duke]

Reer Gedo will go the way of their kinsmen from Galgaduud. No need to fret and no need to be overjoyd the battles have not started and the pretence of governemnt will not restrain the locals.

 

Kismayu will be like Mogadishu a big prison for the JVA.

[Garyaqaan2]

Originally posted by Castro:

^^^^ Saaxib waan ku fahmay laakiin dantaydaa ii daran is not a good argument. If the Gedo folks are telling Yey what he wants to hear and then turning around to fight his men, they'll have to make up their mind at some point. Yey can simply ask: "are you with me or are you against me?" Or he may just ask the Ethiopians to bomb them into submission. It looks like this cat is out of the bag and if the Gedo boys don't form alliances quick, they'll find themselves bleeding alone under Ethiopian boots.

^^^Castro

saaxiib soomali waxeey ku maah maahdaa

ninkii labo farsood luga ha kala saarta Futadaa jeexmata. I am afriad this might be the case for reer gedo boys.

[Gabbal]

Originally posted by Castro:

^^^^ Saaxib waan ku fahmay laakiin dantaydaa ii daran is not a good argument. If the Gedo folks are telling Yey what he wants to hear and then turning around to fight his men, they'll have to make up their mind at some point. Yey can simply ask: "are you with me or are you against me?" Or he may just ask the Ethiopians to bomb them into submission. It looks like this cat is out of the bag and if the Gedo boys don't form alliances quick, they'll find themselves bleeding alone under Ethiopian boots.

The Ethiopians already told the Gedo Boys they have a right to defend themselves. Quote me on this.

[Castro]

Originally posted by N/AA:

The Ethiopians already told the Gedo Boys they have a right to defend themselves. Quote me on this.

Well of course they did. It's called divide and conquer yaa Horn. Do you know what that means? It means pitting one group against another for as long as possible. The Z clan against the V clan, the W clan against T clan and so on. Ring a bell? It should.

 

Go ahead. Celebrate this meaningless victory until Ethiopia "tells" another group of "boys" to take the Gedo boys down.

 

Use your mind atheer, it surely is a terrible thing to waste.

[Gabbal]

Castro, Ethiopia did not engineer the Kismaayo problem. Is Ethiopia practicing divide and conquer? Most likely, hell they probably are but even so they did not engineer the Kismaayo problem nor did they participate in it. In fact the best they could have done was stay out and that is what they did and that is the guarantee the Kismaayo group has from them.

 

What else are you arguing?