From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Oct 01 2009 - 09:55:38 EDT
Somali rebel groups fight in southern port
Thu Oct 1, 2009 12:42pm GMT
By Ibrahim Mohamed
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Rival Islamist rebels battled in southern Somalia's
Kismayu port on Thursday, killing at least 20 people and the fighting
threatened to spread to other parts of the failed Horn of Africa state.
Witnesses said al Shabaab gunmen and their one-time allies from Hizbul Islam
attacked each other at dawn, and that by mid-afternoon al Shabaab appeared
to control most areas.
Sporadic shooting continued, however, and many residents remained desperate
to join the hundreds who have already fled.
Maryam Maalin, a single mother-of-four, told Reuters the fighting outside
her house made it impossible to escape.
"They are firing in front of my home. We have nothing to eat and we are
scared for our lives. If I could get a chance to run, I would take my young
kids and go," she said by telephone.
The confrontation had been brewing for days, and Hizbul Islam leaders had
threatened to fight al Shabaab "everywhere" in Somalia if clashes began at
the rebel-held port, which is a lucrative source of taxes and other income.
Security analysts say Somalia has become a safe haven for militants,
including foreign jihadists, and Washington says al Shabaab is al Qaeda's
proxy in the country.
Relations between al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam degenerated last week after al
Shabaab named its own council to run Kismayu, excluding all Hizbul members.
Until then, the two groups had run the port in an uneasy coalition.
Western donors have long hoped hardliners in al Shabaab could be isolated by
a deal between more moderate Hizbul leaders and the fragile U.N.-backed
administration that could bring some stability to Somalia after nearly two
decades of anarchy.
CLASHES TO SPREAD?
President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has so far failed to lure top Hizbul Islam
figures to his side, but a feud between the two rebel groups could give his
government some breathing space.
Member of parliament Barre Hiire said the government was relieved to see the
insurgents fighting each other for once.
"Of course we are sorry about any civilian casualties. But they are the ones
who have been attacking us. We are very happy with what is happening in
Kismayu," he told Reuters.
Fighting in Somalia has killed nearly 19,000 civilians since the start of
2007 and driven 1.5 million from their homes.
The battles between al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam in the southern port raised
the possibility of clashes between their gunmen in Mogadishu, where they
have fought together against Ahmed's administration and African Union
peacekeepers.
Hassan Hundubey, a London-based independent Somali analyst, said that would
depend on how close the ties were between Hizbul Islam fighters in Kismayu
and their counterparts in the capital. He said the clashes were mostly over
money, not ideology.
"It is mostly economic. They are fighting for control of the resources from
the port and airport ... they are using religion as cover for several
interests: tribal, economic and politics."
C Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
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