Fierce fighting continues in Somalia

Mortar rounds and rockets hit the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Feb. 20 in a series of attacks that killed 15 people and wounded more than 40, doctors and witnesses said. Most of the victims were civilians caught in the crossfire as Ethiopian and pro-government forces exchanged mortar fire with insurgents. The fighting was triggered when insurgents fired shells at Ethiopian barracks and towards the presidential palace and seaport. Mortars fired at insurgent positions by Ethiopian and Somali forces struck civilian homes instead. "The situation here is out of control," said Ali Said Omar, chairman of the Center for Peace and Democracy, a non-governmental organization in Mogadishu. "Though the insurgents started by firing rockets, the Ethiopians' response was indiscriminate. Whole families are being destroyed." A local journalist who requested anonymity said that civilians were "being victimized twice," as they had no power to stop the insurgents in their neighborhoods and had no protection when the pro-government troops retaliated. The violence was among the worst since a two-week war in December, in which Ethiopian troops helped government forces drive out militants that had taken over much of the country. "A pregnant woman died in a house made of iron sheets after a mortar hit where she was sleeping.... There was blood everywhere," a witness said, who said he saw six bodies in the central Wardigley district. Families have begun fleeing the city in recent days as the violence has escalated. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), which assists two hospitals in the capital, confirmed that they had received a large number of civilian casualties. The ICRC said more than 430 people, most of them civilians, had been admitted to hospitals in Somalia since January. Dozens have been killed, the ICRC estimates, but the exact number can not be confirmed. The group is one of the few aid agencies operating in Somalia. "The ICRC is deeply concerned about the plight of civilians caught up in the fighting and calls on all warring parties to comply with the rules of international humanitarian law," the organization said in a statement. According to eyewitnesses, checkpoints manned by freelance militias, which had disappeared while the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) controlled the city, have reappeared in parts of the city. The UIC were routed by Ethiopian-backed forces of the Somali Transitional Federal Government in December 2006, after controlling Mogadishu and large parts of the south since June. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia, in a report released on Feb. 16, said: "There are reported to be around 15 such checkpoints now, at which civilians are subjected to violence, extortion and intimidation. There are similar reports coming from the Mogadishu-Johwar [north] and Mogadishu-Brava [south] roads." The violence has not been confined to the capital. Reports indicate that the security situation in Lower Shabelle has also deteriorated, with cases of rape being reported. In the southern city of Baidoa, a reporter was killed on Feb. 16. Abdifatah Geesey, manager of the Baidoa-based radio station Warsan, said the reporter was killed in cold blood: "Ali [Muhammad Umar] was killed by two unknown gunmen on his way home on [Feb. 16] at 8pm." One of three private media groups summoned by Somali intelligence officials a day earlier said it was "shocked and dismayed" after being told to stop reporting unrest in the city. Shabelle TV and radio said the deputy head of national security "threatened the directors that [under] martial law… government soldiers can shoot and kill everyone they want." Shabelle Chairman Abdi Maalik Yusuf Mohamuud said it was now "crystal clear" that Somalia's independent media was under attack. He called on the international community to pressure the government to respect press freedom. The recent violence raises serious questions about the ability of the Transitional Federal Government to maintain control of the country. Despite the presence of several thousand Ethiopian troops, in recent weeks insurgents have mounted attacks almost daily. The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Feb. 20 to authorize an African Union (AU) force to bolster the transitional government and set the stage for the deployment of UN peacekeepers. The resolution urges the 53 African nations to contribute troops to a peacekeeping force and urges other UN member states to provide financial support. Ugandan soldiers are due to deploy in Mogadishu soon as the vanguard of an 8,000-strong AU force to replace the Ethiopian presence, which infuriates many Somalis who view Ethiopia as a centuries-old rival. The Nigerian army has confirmed that it will start sending soldiers to Somalia as part of a peacekeeping force in mid-April–as Ethiopian forces leave. The Nigerian army said 850 troops would be deployed to Somalia by the middle of April in three phases. An insurgent group calling itself the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of Two Migrations has threatened any AU troops, in a warning posted on a website that was associated with the ousted Islamic militants. "We promise we shall welcome them with bullets from heavy guns, exploding cars and young men eager to carry out suicide attacks against these colonial forces," the message said.