MOGADISHU, Somalia Apr 17 (Garowe Online) - Heavy fighting erupted overnight Tuesday in Mogadishu following an elders’ announcement that a series of negotiation talks between them and the Ethiopian military seem to be heading towards collapse, witnesses said.
The fighting is concentrated in northern Mogadishu, where residents reported the sounds of intermittent gunfire over the past few nights.
“The fighting is heavier than other [past] nights,†said one resident who lives near Stadium Mogadishu by telephone.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, but witnesses said insurgents and clan militias attacked government and Ethiopian forces’ position with rockets and machineguns.
Residents said government troops were being aided by clan militias who oppose the insurgency.
Earlier in the day, Ahmed Dirie, who speaks on behalf of a self-styled Hawiye elders' council, said that talks with the Ethiopians would collapse since Ethiopian generals have refused to withdraw their troops from strategic areas, including the vicinity of Stadium Mogadishu.
“They [Ethiopians] said they will not withdraw [from these areas]…but there are still talks left between us,†Dirie said.
The elders’ spokesman said the Ethiopian commanders are willing to withdraw from residential areas, such as the Hamar Bile neighborhood, but will not withdraw from other locations, since their aim is to peacefully use the road that links the presidential palace, Villa Somalia, to Mogadishu International Airport.
The zone around Hamar Bile and Stadium Mogadishu was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting late last month when a coalition of insurgents and clan militias clashed with government and Ethiopian troops.
Aid agencies estimate that upwards of 400 people, mostly civilians, died in those battles over several consecutive days. But Hawiye elders claim that more than 1,000 civilians were killed, a charge the interim Somali government vehemently denies.
Earlier Tuesday, hundreds of government forces intensified security operations around the KM4 junction in efforts to pacify and secure strategic roads, military sources said.
The Somali government announced this week that a National Reconciliation Conference, which was scheduled to open yesterday in Mogadishu, was postponed until June due to security concerns.
The conference is supposed to attract some 3,000 delegates who represent the country’s various clans and sub-clans, and will discuss many relevant issues, including the interim constitution and power-sharing between the different factions.
