Battle Rages for Control of Somalia

Forces loyal to Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre were locked in fierce battle with rebels in the East African country Tuesday with no clear sign of who was gaining the upper hand.

United Nations staff evacuated from Somalia’s embattled capital, Mogadishu, to Nairobi said chaos and anarchy reigned as Siad Barre fought to preserve his 21-year rule.

Rebels of the United Somali Congress claimed to have seized control of most of the city and to have cornered Siad Barre, who took power in a 1969 coup, in an underground bunker.

They said he was holed up in the south of the city near the airport with fighting raging all around.

But details of the situation on the ground were sketchy, with the government broadcasting on state radio despite earlier rebel claims to have taken it over. All telephone and telex lines have been cut.

Ten members of the U.N. Development Program flew to Nairobi but they were reluctant to talk about the situation they left behind.

“We still have people in there and their lives are in real danger,” said one of the evacuees, who asked not to be named.

UNDP’s resident representative in Nairobi, Jean-Jacques Graisse, said the airport was still in government hands and another plane would fly to Mogadishu today to take out 10 remaining UNDP employees.

Italy said it was sending air force C-130 transport planes to evacuate Italians and other foreigners trapped in Somalia, part of which was a former Italian colony.

Italy and Egypt have been trying to broker peace talks between the government, the United Somali Congress and four other rebel groups, linked together since August in a loose anti-Siad Barre alliance.