MOGADISHU – At least 11 people were killed and dozens wounded Friday, June 2, in new clashes between fighters loyal to a warlord alliance and gunmen allied to Islamic courts in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) attacked a group of fighters loyal to the Islamic courts in Balad, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of the city, witnesses told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Residents in the city said the fighting involved fighters loyal to ARPCT warlord Musa Sudi and those of a former ally-turned-rival Moalim Ashi.
"The alliance killed nine rival fighters belonging to Ashi and lost two," said one resident on condition of anonymity.
Friday's fatality brought to 327 the death toll from three months of battles between the alliance and the Islamic courts.
More than 1,500 people, mostly civilians, were also wounded in the fighting.
Somalia has been without functioning government since the 1991 overthrow of president Mohamed Siad Barre.
The African country has lacked almost all the trappings of a functional state, such as national systems of education, healthcare and justice.
Truce
The two warring sides have reinforced positions in and around the lawless Somali capital.
Witnesses said hundreds of reinforcements and scores of machine gun-mounted pick-ups were deployed in and around Mogadishu.
This comes as mediation efforts have been under way by Somali elders to broker a ceasefire between the alliance and the Islamic courts.
"We are contacting both sides involved in the conflict and they say they want peace, but to the contrary, the commanders are preparing themselves for war," said mediator Ali Hassan.
"If this dangerous trend continues, Mogadishu will be very bad and the situation will get out of control," he told AFP.
Established in February, the ARPCT claims it seeks to curb the growing influence of Mogadishu's 11 Islamic courts and track down Al-Qaeda members.
But the Islamic courts rebuff the claim, saying the warlords were on the US payroll.
Although Washington has not explicitly confirmed its support for the alliance, US officials have said the group has received US money and is one of several it is working with to contain the alleged threat of Islamists.
European diplomats revealed last week that the US State Department has relocated the political affairs officer at its Kenya embassy to Chad after he spoke out against bankrolling Somali warlords.
The interim government has accused the US of fanning the flames of civil war in the African country by backing the warlords, not only financially but also militarily.
Washington has invested considerable military and intelligence resources in the Horn of Africa, starting with a base in Djibouti, and is known to operate in tandem with local security services.
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