Battles Among Militias Spread in Somalian Capital

Dozens of people were killed Thursday as Islamic and secular militias battled in Somalia’s capital, and thousands fled the fighting. The violence spread from northern Mogadishu, recent scene of fierce battles, into the southern and eastern parts of the city, witnesses said.

Islamic Court Union militiamen captured a strategic road junction and seized the historic Sahafi Hotel, owned by a member of the rival Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism.

The fight for control of Mogadishu comes despite a May 14 cease-fire. The alliance says the self-appointed Islamic Court Union leaders have links to the Al Qaeda terrorist network, whereas the Islamic militants accuse the alliance of working for the CIA. U.S. officials refuse to confirm any association with the secular militia.

The Islamic fundamentalists portray themselves as an alternative force capable of bringing order to Somalia, which has been without a real government since largely clan-based warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

A United Nations-backed transitional government based in the southern city of Baidoa, 150 miles northwest of Mogadishu, has been unable to assert authority.

Renewed fighting erupted Wednesday in northern Mogadishu and killed at least six people. More than 140 people were killed in eight days of fighting this month.

No public transportation was operating in the city Thursday, and schools were closed for a second day. As night fell, the city center was largely empty, with just a few people hiding in buildings from sporadic mortar fire. Militias set up roadblocks on many streets using sandbags or old cars.

At least 48 people were killed and about 90 injured, said Abdi Ibrahim Jiya of the Somali Doctors Assn., citing information collected from Mogadishu’s main hospitals. But he said casualty tolls probably would increase because many civilians were unable to make it to a hospital.

Thousands of civilians fled their homes on foot, some carrying children, trying to avoid the crossfire or stray rockets, mortar shells and bullets. Among those leaving southern and eastern Mogadishu were residents who had sought refuge there after fleeing the north.

Sadumo Imaam, whose youngest child was killed Thursday by mortar fire, said: “I have fled from northern Mogadishu. Now the fighting has affected me in the south. So I would prefer to go back to home since there is no safe place in the city.”