Truce aims to stem Somalia's bloodshed
Recent fighting between Ethopian troops and insurgents was intense even by Mogadishu's skewed standards.
from the April 2, 2007 edition
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Sixteen years of turmoil
Somalia has been beset by violence since the overthrow of Mr. Barre in 1991.
Clan-linked warlords carved the country into a series of personal fiefdoms, making it all but impossible for any central authority to take control.
That changed last year when militias linked to the UIC seized control of Mogadishu and a swath of southern and central Somalia.
They were ousted at the end of December by Somali government forces and troops from neighboring Ethiopia.
Ethiopia – with the tacit support of the US – feared a hard-line Islamic state would become a haven for Al Qaeda terrorists. But since then a weak interim Somali government has struggled to impose order on Mogadishu.
In his most recent briefing on Somalia, the US ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, described an "insecurity soup" operating in the city. He said fighters loyal to the city's warlords and bandits had reemerged to take advantage of its anarchic state.
But he also said that Al Qaeda was encouraging the rump of the ousted UIC to reorganize around Aden Hashi Ayro, a militant Islamist militia commander. He is believed to have been trained in Afghanistan and to be linked to the murder of Western journalists and aid workers in Somalia.
So far the AU has sent 1,200 Ugandan troops to help the government and pave the way for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, seen by many as an invading power. Other African nations have balked at sending more peacekeepers to boost the AU force to its planned strength of 8,000.
The residents of Mogadishu are not prepared to wait. Many are leaving their homes with all they can carry. The UN reports that 58,000 people have fled Mogadishu's violence in the past two months and 12,000 have left in the past 10 days.
They risk harassment or rape, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It is difficult for men to make the journey as it requires crossing clan lines, which would put them at risk of revenge killings.
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