20 Somalis Killed, 70 Injured in Clashes Between Al-Shabab and AU-Backed Government Forces, September 23, 2010

20 Somalis Killed, 70 Injured in Clashes Between Al-Shabab and AU-Backed Government Forces

September 23, 2010

Death toll of Mogadishu fighting rises

MOGADISHU, 23 September, 2010 (Sh. M. Network)

At least 20 people have been killed and 70 others have been wounded in fierce fighting between government soldiers and Islamist rebels in the capital Mogadishu ,witnesses and officials told Shabelle on Thursday.

The death toll of the fighting which have taken place early on Thursday in Hodan, Hawlwadag, Bondere and Abiaziz districts in the capital has risen and left more than 20 people dead and 70 others wounded.

Eyewitnesses in Bakaro market in Mogadishu say a mortar shell which landed near Aba Hureyra mosque in the Bakaro killed 15 civilians and wounded 25 others.

The exact number of casualties are yet unknown. More mortar shells destroyed business areas in the Bakaro market. Ali Muse Sheikh, the chair of Mogadishu’s Ambulance Service told Shabelle that Today’s fighting was the worst in recent clashes in Mogadishu.

Civilians in Mogadishu borne the brunt of the fighting between al Shabaab and the government soldiers backed by troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Twenty killed in fresh Mogadishu clashes

MOGADISHU, Sept. 23, 2010 (Xinhua) --

At least twenty people were killed and almost 70 others wounded on Thursday in fierce clashes between Al-Shabab fighters and Somali government forces backed by African Union (AU) peace-keeping troops in Mogadishu, emergency official and witnesses said.

The exchanged heavy artillery fire after fighting broke out following an attack on government forces and AU troops in the southern Mogadishu district of Hodon and Hawlwadaag.

"Several salvos of shells that hit in and around the main Bakara market left twenty people dead and 70 others wounded. Our staffs ferried most of the wounded to the hospitals in Mogadishu," Ali Muse head of a voluntary emergency service told Xinhua.

Most of the shells landed in a number of neighborhoods far from the battle areas with most of the casualties in and around the main Bakara market which was closed following the fighting which centered around the main route of Dabka Street that connected the government-held part of Mogadishu to the insurgent-run side of the restive coastal city, witnesses said.

Opposition groups of Al Shabaab and their allies launch almost daily attacks on targets of Somali government and AU peacekeeping troops based in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Somali government which controls only parts of Mogadishu with the support of the almost 6,000 AU pecaekeeping troops, has been vowing to drive back Islamist rebels determined to over run the only parts of Mogadishu that are not under their control.

Somali has been without a strong central government for almost two decades following the collapse of the government of former strongman Mohamed Siyad Barre in 1991.

Eight Islamist fighters killed in fresh Mogadishu clashes

MOGADISHU, Sept. 20, 2010 (Xinhua) --

Somali government military commanders said on Monday that they killed eight Islamist rebel fighters in clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu, local media reports said.

The fighting broke out after fighters from Hezbul Islam opposition group attacked positions of Somali government forces in the south of the coastal city.

"Our forces killed eight of the misguided youths who attacked our defensive positions and the restive fled and we still remain in our position, "Abdelkadir Hussein Milheh, senior Somali military commander, told local Shabelle radio in Mogadishu.

Milheh did not say if the government side suffered any losses but spokesman for Hezbul Islam group told the local radio that the group's fighters "inflicted heavy losses" on the Somali government forces and denied that any of the group's fighters were killed in the fighting.

Armed Islamist opposition groups launch almost daily attacks on the forces of the fragile Somali government and the almost 6, 000 African Union (AU) peacekeeping troops backing it.

Meanwhile the leader of the Hezbul Islam movement, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, spoke on the local radio station in Mogadishu which his fighters took over on Sunday to officially announce that the Global Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) radio station will be under the control of the opposition group.

GBC as well as HornAfrik radio stations were on Sunday separately taken over by Hezbul Islam and Al Shabaab oppostion groups respectively.

The GBC owners, who also spoke on the station for the first time after its takeover, said that they agreed to hand over the local FM station to the Islamist group and that the station will serve "the interests of Islam" in Somalia.

Somalia has remained chaotic for almost two decades since the collapse of Somali government in 1991.

Two radio stations in Mogadishu taken over by Islamist rebels

MOGADISHU, Sept. 19, 2010 (Xinhua) --

Two independent radio stations in Mogadishu were on Sunday taken off air and their equipment were also confiscated by Islamist rebels, station staff said.

The stations, HornAfrik Radio and Global Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) were separately raided by heavily armed fighters from the two Islamist groups of Al Shabaab and Hezbul Islam respectively. "We were ordered to switch off the radio and the management was told that the station would be under the control of Hezbul Islam," Ahmed Abdi Hassan, a reporter with GBC told Xinhua.

Fighters from Al Shabaab group have also stormed the station building of HornAfrik radio in the insurgent stronghold of Mogadishu and forcibly taken away the FM equipment and computers in the station studio.

It was not immediately clear why the Islamist groups have raided stations in the section of the Somali capital where they control.

Neither group nor station owners has officially commented on the surprise takeover of the two independent radio stations.

One of the stations, HornAfrik, has been off the air for few days before the news of its takeover emerged on Sunday. Some reports suggest that differences between the station management have led to its closure after one side sought the intervention of oppostion fighters from Al Shabaab.

The stations have been neutral in their coverage of the conflict between the Somali government and opposition groups as well as the African Union peacekeeping troops backing the Somali government forces.

The Al Shabaab opposition movement which controls much of south and centre of Somalia has previously confiscated the equipment of two Mogadishu radio stations while another, Holy Quran Radio or IQK, which has been independent, has now been turned into a mouthpiece of the radical group after they took it over.

All radio stations in the insurgent held provinces in south- central Somalia have either been closed down or taken over and turned into a pro-Islamist media while no independent media is allowed to operate freely in the Islamist controlled areas.

Opposition groups have banned local radio stations from airing music or calling the groups other than their full official names.

Several journalists have been killed or wounded for the past two years in Somalia which has not had an effective government for almost a decade, and is considered one of the worst places for journalists to operate.

Editor: Lin Li

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