Somalia's powerful Hawiye clan on Sunday announced it was
beginning a truce with Ethiopian troops to end four days of
fighting, which have left dozens dead and hundreds wounded in the
Somali capital Mogadishu.
"After the carnage, destruction, the massive displacing
subjected to civilians and the property destroyed for the last few
days, we have decided to cease fire from 2 PM today, April 1, 2007,
all over the capital," said a statement released by Hawiye clan
elders.
The clan's elders then asked the Ethiopian government to also
announce it would abide by the ceasefire, although no such
confirmation has been forthcoming.?
In order to allow displaced civilians to return to their homes,
the statement also calls upon Ethiopian troops to withdraw from the
areas they moved into during the violence.
Ahmed Diriye, a Hawiye clan spokesman, did reveal that the
ceasefire had been initiated by Ethiopian officials, offering to
hold talks after violence had abated.?
On Sunday, the truce appeared to be in effect across most of the
city, although the sounds of shelling and small-arms fire could
still be heard intermittently. Medical sources at Medina Hospital
revealed that Sunday's fighting claimed seven and wounded 12.
The ceasefire came about after four days of ferocious fighting
between Hawiye clan fighters and Ethiopian and Somali government
troops. The International Committee of the Red Cross labeled the
last few days of combat as the worst violence since the overthrow
of former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
The Ethiopian-backed transitional government, fresh from its
successful campaign against the Islamists in December last year,
has blamed the daily strife on remnants of the defeated movement,
still operating around Mogadishu under protection of the
traditional clans.
Hawiye leaders have refuted these claims, saying they are
responsible for the recent attacks which they view as a defense
measure in response to President Abdullahi Yusuf's attempts to
disarm them.
Yusuf's government has vowed to successfully quell violence in
Mogadishu ahead of the national reconciliation congress, set to be
held there on April 16.
Back in 1991, warlords united to oust former ruler Mohamed Siad
Barre but were unable to maintain their alliance and turned on each
other, plunging their nation into anarchy ever since.
The transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help, but
with no real army or police presence, has had few methods to impose
its authority.
(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2007)
