At least 18 dead in battle over disputed Somali port city

[Dabrow]

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 18 people have been killed in gunbattles in southern Somalia's Kismayu, residents said on Saturday, in the heaviest fighting the disputed port city has seen in more than four years.

 

The clashes, the first since several former warlords staked rival claims on the lucrative port and fertile hinterlands in May, has stoked fears among locals of a return to the clan wars that tipped the country into anarchy two decades ago.

 

Residents counted at least 13 bodies, nearly all militiamen, in the sandy streets of two neighborhoods which witnessed the brunt of Saturday's fighting. Five people were killed a day earlier when the clashes first broke out.

 

"The Ras Kamboni militia now controls this part of the city," Bile Nur, a resident of Kismayu's Calanleey district told Reuters by telephone. "Residents are burying the dead of the militia driven out while Ras Kamboni are burying theirs."

 

Earlier residents hid indoors as fighters riding in machine gun-mounted pick-up trucks battled for territorial control. Businesses remained shut and the streets of Somalia's second biggest city were empty of civilians as mortar blasts rang out.

 

Kismayu was controlled by Islamist al Shabaab until last September when the militants fled an offensive by Kenyan troops supported by Ras Kamboni, a militia group loyal to a former governor of Kismayu, Ahmed Madobe.

 

A local assembly last month declared Madobe president of the southern Jubaland region, handing him back control of Kismayu.

 

But Somalia's central government, which does not view Madobe favorably, said his appointment was unconstitutional. Within days, three other men had pronounced themselves president, including Barre Hirale, a pro-Mogadishu former defense minister.

 

LITMUS TEST FOR RECOVERY

 

Fighting broke out when Madobe's fighters stopped another of the claimants from visiting a hotel were Somalia's defense minister and other officials were meeting.

 

Regional capitals and Western donors are nervous of any reversal of security gains made in Somalia by African Union peacekeepers in the fight against the al Qaeda-linked militants, seen as a threat to stability in east Africa and beyond.

 

How the fate of Kismayu and the Jubaland region is resolved is a litmus test for Somalia as it rebuilds from the ruins of war and cements a fragile peace.

 

Mogadishu insists there is no going back to civil war, but government-led talks on Kismayu are being stymied by the divisive clan politics that dog Somalia. Many residents weary of years of turmoil hold little hope for a negotiated end.

 

"The fighting has died down for now," said mother-of-five Seinab Ali. "But Ras Kamboni seem determined to continue until they eliminate the other militias."

 

Madobe's apparently close relationship with the Kenyan military has raised tensions between the Mogadishu and Nairobi governments. A Kenyan ally in southern Somalia could provide Nairobi with a welcome buffer along their porous border.

 

On Saturday, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud returned to Mogadishu after talks with Kenya's new leader. The pair have met at least five times since Uhuru Kenyatta's inauguration in early April, aides say.

 

Al Shabaab blamed Kenya for the latest violence.

 

"The Kenyan government will be held fully responsible for every drop of blood," Sheikh Xudayfa Abdirahman, a senior al Shabaab official, told Reuters.

 

Al Shabaab wants to impose a strict version of Islamic law on Somalia and has been blamed for many attacks on Kenyan soil.

 

(Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Very sad , they should have accepted the reconciliation conference the PM proposed before creating a state.Now you have warlords fighting each other, this what happens when you create a state before reconciling the various tribes and stake holders.

[N.O.R.F]

It seems as though Somalis, whether warlords, politicians or cyber lobbyists, do not understand the concept of compromise.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

NORF compromise sounds like defeat, no one Somalia accepts that

 

Aydiid versus Ali mahdi no compromise

Warlords against each other in Mogadishu no compromise

Cabdilahi Yusuf versus ICU no compromise

Cabdiqasim vs warlords no compromise

Muqaamo vs Yey no compromise

Cabdilahi Yusuf versus Jamac cali jamac no compromise

Barre hiiraale versus moorgen no compromise

Sharif versus Godane no compromise

Hassan versus Godane no compromise

Hassan versus the autonomous state supporters no compromise

[The Zack]

Cigaal vs Garxajis no compromise

SNM vs SNA no compromise

 

Why uga tagtay kuwaas?

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Actually there was a compromise a comprehensive peace agreement between the clan militias who opposed cigaal at that time were given a lion share in the cabinet of Cigaal. And by early 1997 full peace was reached. So there was a compromise cigaal didn't control much of sanaag and western burco. Before the agreement

 

Yes SNM and SNA no compromise that one is true

[The Zack]

Yea right there was a compromise after they were defeated badly, you should revisit the meaning of the word "compromise".

[Taleexi]

[Cambuulo iyo bun]

Interview with Kismaayo Bob

 

Kismaayo bob: ''Xaaladu wey dagantahay''

 

Wariyaha: '' waa maxey rasaasta dhaceyso sow adigii yiri xaaladu wey degan tahay'' :D

 

http://www.voasomali.com/audio/Audio/293017.html

[Saalax]

The Zack Stop talking out of your ******** backside. The G Unit militia did control much of Burco 1994-1997 and also the

capital of Sanaag Ceerigaabo.

 

 

 

[Taleexi]

[The Zack]

Saalax, they were defeated, we have videos. We have facts. Xaaji thinks they compromised.

[Dabrow]

At least 18 people have been killed in gunbattles in the disputed southern Somalian port city of Kismayu, residents have said.

 

Hundreds were fleeing the clashes on Saturday, the first since several former warlords staked rival claims on the lucrative port and fertile hinterlands in May.

 

Gunmen from the Ras Kamboni armed group of Ahmed Madobe, recently self-appointed "president" of the southern Jubaland region, battled against forces loyal to Iftin Hassan Basto, another leader claiming to be president.

 

"Fighting started when soldiers from Ras Kamboni attacked and tried to arrest me," Basto said.

 

"But my men fought back and defended me."

 

Several rival factions claim ownership of Kismayo, a former stronghold of the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, where Kenyan troops in an African Union force are now based.

 

Kismayu residents counted at least 13 bodies, nearly all armed men, in the sandy streets of two neighbourhoods which witnessed the brunt of Saturday's fighting. Five people were killed a day earlier when the clashes first broke out.

 

"The Ras Kamboni militia now controls this part of the city," said Bile Nur, a resident of Kismayu's Calanleey district.

 

Residents bury dead

 

"Residents are burying the dead of the militia driven out while Ras Kamboni are burying theirs."

 

Residents hid indoors earlier as fighters riding in machine gun-mounted pick-up trucks battled for territorial control.

 

Businesses remained shut and the streets of Somalia's second biggest city were empty of civilians as mortar blasts rang out.

 

Kismayu was controlled by al-Shabab until last September when the armed groups fled an offensive by Kenyan troops supported by Ras Kamboni, an armed group loyal to a former governor of Kismayu, Ahmed Madobe.

 

A local assembly last month declared Madobe president of the southern Jubaland region, handing him back control of Kismayu.

 

But Somalia's central government, which does not view Madobe favourably, said his appointment was unconstitutional.

 

Within days three other men had pronounced themselves president, including Barre Hirale, a pro-Mogadishu former defence minister.

 

Fighting broke out when Madobe's fighters stopped another of the claimants from visiting a hotel were Somalia's defence minister and other officials were meeting.

 

Regional capitals and Western donors were nervous of any reversal of security gains made in Somalia by African Union peacekeepers in the fight against the al Qaeda-linked fighters, seen as a threat to stability in east Africa and beyond.

 

Mogadishu has said there is no going back to civil war, but government-led talks on Kismayu were being stymied by the divisive clan politics that dog Somalia.

 

Many residents weary of years of turmoil hold little hope for a negotiated end.

[Dabrow]

Hundreds of people are fleeing the southern Somali port city of Kismayo after fighting broke out between two self-declared leaders of the region.

 

At least 10 people were killed on Saturday as clashes between the rival militias flared for a second day. Seven were killed on Friday, residents said.

 

Fighting began when one of the leaders tried to meet the defence minister, who is seeking to resolve the situation.

 

African Union troops are in charge of security in Kismayo.

 

The city was captured from Islamist militants last October.

 

A new UN-backed government in Mogadishu is trying to regain control of the country after more than 20 years of conflict with the help of the AU force.

 

Intense

 

Kismayo residents say the fighting is intense, with militiamen firing continuously from pick-up trucks mounted with heavy weaponry.

 

There are many different clans in the region - known as Jubaland - who compete for lucrative port revenues in Kismayo and access to the most fertile land in Somalia.

 

Currently there are several self-declared presidents of Jubaland and the government has said it recognises none of them.

 

It wants the groups to attend a meeting in Mogadishu to resolve the issue - this is why Defence Minister Abdihakim Mahmoudis Haji went to Kismayo.

 

Friday's fighting started when fighters loyal to Ahmed Madobe stopped his rival Istin Hassan from meeting Mr Haji, who was staying at a hotel in central Kismayo.

 

Mr Haji told the BBC Somali Service that the fighting "would not be tolerated and should stop forthwith".

 

He denied allegations that members of the Somali army had joined the rival militias.

 

Losing Kismayo in October was a blow for al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group which controlled larges swathes of country in recent years.

 

Although the AU and Somali government have driven al-Shabab from most major cities, its fighters still control smaller towns and rural areas in central and southern Somalia and they sometimes launch attacks in government controlled territory.

[Alpha Blondy]

this is very sad. AUN.