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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Jul 21 2010 - 09:17:18 EDT
SOMALIA: Deadly skies above Mogadishu
MOGADISHU, 21 July 2010 (IRIN) - As Islamist insurgents
<http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89748> battle it out with
government troops backed by African Union forces (AMISOM) in Somalia's
capital, civilians face continuous danger from above in the form of the
mortar shells used by most parties to the conflict.
Shelling accounted for many of the injuries to the 160 people admitted in
the first three weeks of July to Madina hospital, the largest hospital in
Mogadishu, according to its director-general, Mohamed Yusuf.
Over roughly the same period, some 11,500 Mogadishu residents were
<http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89834> displaced by the
fighting, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
"Most of the patients admitted are those on whom surgery was performed, such
as those with stomach injuries," Yusuf said.
"Patients with chest, head and bone fractures are also admitted. About 60
percent of the injuries are due to explosives, shelling using heavy mortars
and exploded bombs."
He said a few required specialized surgery only available out of the country
but "we tackle most of the others here as we have been doing in the past 20
or so years" since the fall of the country's last functioning government.
Yusuf said 40 percent of those in the hospital were women and children, most
of whom had been caught up in mortar attacks in places such as markets.
Most of the patients treated at Madina were too poor to afford the charges
and are often treated for free. The hospital depends on contributions from
well-wishers and fees paid by patients who can afford them, he said.
Keysaney hospital
In early July, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) decried
the shelling of Keysaney, another hospital in Mogadishu.
"We are shocked about the situation at Keysaney," Pascal Mauchle, the head
the Somalia ICRC delegation, said in a statement on 1 July.
"Despite our repeated calls to all warring parties to respect international
humanitarian law and spare medical facilities, nothing seems to have changed
on the ground. The situation is becoming more and more dangerous for
patients and medical staff by the day."
ICRC said since the beginning of 2010, some 1,400 "war patients" had been
treated at the hospital, including at least 300 women and around 200
children.
While the ICRC did not point any fingers, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,
in his
<http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N10/343/91/PDF/N1034391.pdf?Open
Element> latest report to the Security Council on Somalia noted that
"civilians were increasingly caught in crossfire, mortar attacks and
artillery shelling between insurgents and Government forces", and went on to
express concern about the "shelling of civilian areas and indiscriminate
return fire by Government and AMISOM troops".
Night-time shelling
In the Mogadishu district of Dayniile, home to many internally displaced
persons (IDPs), one resident told IRIN: "There has been heavy shelling of
civilian areas, mostly at night, coming from government and AMISOM
controlled areas. We don't know why they are shelling civilian areas."
He named Hodan, Howlwadag and Wardhigley as other areas affected by
shelling.
Information Ministry spokesman Sheikh Abdirizak Mohammed Qeylow told IRIN
that Al Shabab insurgents, not government forces, "are the ones who attack
peaceful areas resulting in the civilian casualties which we are now
witnessing, with many Somalis being forced to flee to IDP camps.
AMISOM spokesman Gaffel Nkolokosa said the force's troops had "always
avoided shelling of civilian areas. It is not involved in shelling civilian
areas even if provoked by the other parties".
"AMISOM troops undergo thorough training in their home countries before
deployment. They are conversant with relevant aspects such as international
humanitarian law and as such would not shell civilian areas," he told IRIN.
http://pictures.irinnews.org/images/2007/200703221.jpg
Photo: <http://www.irinnews.org/photo> TS/IRIN
<http://www.irinnews.org/PhotoDetail.aspx?ImageId=200703221>
http://pictures.irinnews.org/images/design/magnify.gif
African Union peacekeepers support government troops against Ismalist
insurgents in Mogadishu (file photo)
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