New Fighting in Somalia

[Jama Barreh/2113674]

I saw a very short article in the back pages of a local newspaper
that a new fighting broke out in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia , and
there was at least 500 people killed or injured.
From other sources I gathered that the fighting was between factions
loyal to the interim goverment and a group loyal to General Aideed (sp?),
who had a hand in the downfall of Siyad Barre's dictatorship.
Does anybody have any more information on the current situation????

[coch...@vms.macc.wisc.edu]

Follow up to:
Message-ID: <10...@awdprime.UUCP>
Date: 10 Sep 91 22:15:08 GMT
Sender: ne...@awdprime.UUCP
Organization: IBM AWD, Austin
Lines: 9
Originator: ja...@inetnode.austin.ibm.com

Here's an article from the IPS news service, obtained via Peacenet. If you
wish further info on Peacenet, drop me some e-mail... 8*)

/** ips.englibrary: 1098.0 **/ ** Topic: SOMALIA: FIGHTING AND SUFFERING CON
** ** Written 9:03 am Sep 5, 1991 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary **
Copyright Inter Press Service 1991, all rights reserved. Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'igc:newsdesk'.

Area: Africa, east Reference: Disarmament & Peace; Agriculture
Title: SOMALIA: FIGHTING AND SUFFERING CONTINUES DESPITE PEACE EFFORTS

nairobi, sep 2 (ips)--fighting and suffering among thousands of people
without food continues in somalia despite efforts to bring peace to the
country, the chair of the somalia national front (snf) executive committee
said here monday.

major general omar haji mohammed told journalists that some 300,000 to 400,000
people in the southern gedo area and northern galguduud are threatened by
famine, malaria and other diseases.

despite appeals to aid agencies based in nairobi to help, mohammed said there
is no ''help of any type from international aid agencies'' to these areas.

although the international committee of the red cross says it sends some 300
tonnes of relief food a month to somalia, mohammed says this food is
distributed mainly ''in mogadishu and kismayu only''.

the snf, like the united somali peoples front (uspf), has rejected the
djibouti peace initiative. snf wants a new peace initiative to be held in
kenya or egypt.

according to the italian ambassador to somalia, there are still pockets of
''fierce fighting'' in somalia. mario fica, who spoke to the press here
sunday, said factions opposed to the djibouti agreement were fighting near
kismayu.

''some people do not support the djibouti agreement and do not agree that the
war is over,'' the italian envoy said. ''the support of the whole world'' is
needed to solve the somalian conflict, he added.

meanwhile, reports that john garang, leader of the sudan peoples liberation
army (spla) had been overthrown by one of his commanders has been denied here
by the french minister for humanitarian affairs, who returned from sudan
sunday night.

bernard kouchner told the press that garang is alive and well. ''i met garang
and he looked well and still very much in control,'' kouchner said.

reports emanating from inside sudan through london, said that one of garang's
commanders, riak mashaar, had taken over the leadership of the movement.

kouchner told the press that the situation for children in southern sudan has
worsened. according to the french minister, there are 10,000 children between
the ages of 8 and 13 who are living on their own without adult or parental
care.(more/ips)

somalia: fighting (2)

most of the children are young boys, kouchner said, who were either ''rejected
by someone in the refugee camps in ethiopia or were persuaded to return and
establish a home in the bush''. but it is not clear how and when they
returned, he added. (ends/ips/np/ha/pm)

** End of text from cdp:ips.englibrary **

/** ips.englibrary: 1029.0 **/ ** Topic: SOMALIA: RELIEF AID URGENTLY NEEDED
** ** Written 9:54 am Aug 26, 1991 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary **
Copyright Inter Press Service 1991, all rights reserved. Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'igc:newsdesk'.

Area: Europe, eastern Reference: Population; Europe, western
Title: SOMALIA: RELIEF AID URGENTLY NEEDED FOR REFUGEES, REPORT SAYS

london, aug 23 (ips/moyiga nduru) -- a human rights organisation on friday
urged the international community to provide relief aid to the estimated 1.5
million somali refugees in the troubled horn of africa.

in a report published here, the london-based ''minority rights group (mrg)''
said the assistance was needed to cope with the desperate refugee situation in
the region, including those displaced by war within somalia.

the report ''somalia: a nation in turmoil'', written by professor said s.
samatar, a somali professor at rutgers university, in the united states,
lamented that the refugees faced a ''perilous future'' without regular
supplies of adequate food, clean water and medicines.

the organisation however suggested that the relief aid should be distributed
by a commission of somalis and expatriates to avoid misappropriation.

''aid distribution at the grass roots level should never be left to somalis
alone,'' it warned, ''because, should this happen, the new aid will suffer the
same fate as donations of the past.''

''the aid will sink without trace into the sand dunes of the horn, a
circumstance that has earned somalia the name of the graveyard of foreign
aid,'' it added.

but apart from attending to the pressing need of immediate food, water and
shelter, the report also urged the international community to build up
reserves to stave off impending famine.

concern was also expressed about an estimated 1.6 million land mines planted
in the north during the fighting. technical expatriate assistance is required
to help with the detection and removal, the report said.

*********************************************************************
Jeffrey A. Cochrane
Department of Agricultural Economics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
427 Lorch Street ( )
Madison, WI 53706 (oo) E-Mail Coch...@AgEcon.wisc.edu
USA /-------\/ Phone (608) 263-7468/262-9491
/ | || Fax (608) 262-4376
* ||----||
^^ ^^
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