At least 30 people have been killed and over 50 wounded in two days of fighting in Mogadishu, with thousands displaced, local sources told Irin on Wednesday.
The fighting, in the southwestern Medina district, broke out early on Tuesday morning, when militia loyal to Mogadishu faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow attacked a house belonging to his erstwhile ally, Umar Mahmud Muhammad Finish.
The clashes subsided later in the day, but resumed on Wednesday at around 08:30 local time (05:30 GMT).
Medina Hospital sources said that they had 16 new cases of wounded people from Wednesday’s fighting.
Most of the victims were women and children caught up in the crossfire, they added. ”We estimate that at least 30 have been killed and over 50 wounded since yesterday [Tuesday],” said one doctor.
The numbers relate only to those reaching the hospitals, but exclude many people buried where they died, or being cared for at home. ”Once the real numbers come out, I am certain the figures will be higher,” the doctor said.
The latest round of fighting started when Yalahow’s militia, which reportedly lost ground in Tuesday’s fighting, counterattacked the positions of Finish’s militia on Wednesday morning, a Medina resident told Irin.
Finish is Yalahow’s former right-hand man, and both belong to the Da’ud subclan of the Abgal. The fighting is said to be the result of an attempt by Yalahow to strengthen his position before forthcoming peace talks due to take place in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in September.
Meanwhile, thousands of families have been displaced by the current fighting, a local journalist told Irin.
”Many families have been fleeing their homes in Medina since yesterday [Tuesday] to escape the indiscriminate shelling”, he said.
”We have no way of knowing when this thing is going to stop, so we are preparing for the worst and getting our families out,” a local resident added. – Irin