Hundreds of fighters allied to Somalia’s powerful Islamic movement arrived on the outskirts of a key southern port on Thursday, sending tensions soaring in the town amid fears of fighting.
Despite assurances from both the Islamists and the local militia that controls Kismayo that there would be no violence, residents were stockpiling food and other supplies in the event of clashes, witnesses said.
“Leaders here are saying there won’t be any problems, but people are very worried that existing political tension might bring fighting,” said a Somali journalist in the town, about 500km south of Mogadishu.
“Some residents have started storing food and water in anticipation of war but there has been no violence so far,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to uncertain security in the volatile situation.
The presence of the Muslim gunmen, backed by 30 “battlewagons” — machine-gun mounted pick-ups also known as “technicals” — has heightened concerns that the Islamists are planning to further expand their territory in southern Somalia.
Kismayo is held by the Juba Valley Alliance (JVA), a militia led by the minister of defence in Somalia’s weak government, the limited authority of which has been increasingly challenged by the rise of the Islamists.
Tensions have risen steadily between the two camps since the Islamists seized Mogadishu from warlords in June after months of fierce fighting, and then rapidly moved to take control of much of southern Somalia.
Despite an interim peace deal agreed earlier this month, the Islamists and the government remain at deep odds on numerous issues, notably the proposed deployment of East African peacekeepers to support the administration.
The movement of Islamist gunmen toward Kismayo has therefore sparked concern of a new offensive.
But JVA spokesperson Dille Abdule Ali said the forces on the edge of Kismayo, led by two former militia members, Mohamed Jumale Gobale and Yusuf Mire Serar, who are now nominally linked to the Islamists, posed no threat.
“They are welcome here and we expect no violence,” he said.
In the temporary seat of the transitional government in Baidoa, officials said they were monitoring the situation in Kismayo, particularly as the JVA is commanded by defence minister Barre Aden Shire Hirale.
Some speculated the Islamist advance might have been prompted by rumours Shire is planning to declare Kismayo and the surrounding area an independent region.
Somalia has been without a functioning central authority since 1991 and the government, the latest in more than a dozen internationally backed attempts to restore stability, has been crippled by infighting. — AFP