Residents Flee, Fearing Warlord Attack

Hundreds of residents of southern Somalia have fled their homes in anticipation of an attack by the only major warlord to boycott peace talks in Kenya.

Villagers in the Gedo and Jubba valleys reached by two-way radio said Mohammed Siad Hersi, also known as Gen. Morgan, was amassing troops and weapons for a possible assault on the port of Kismaayo, 300 miles south of the capital, Mogadishu.

Adoow Aadan Diriye, an elder in Bardhere, said most residents had left, fearing a battle between Morgan’s militia and troops from the Jubba Valley Alliance. “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers most,” he said.