Fighting exploded between Islamic Courts Union (ICU) forces and the "official" Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia Dec. 20, just as the ICU's deadline for Ethiopian troops to quit the country or face a declaration of "jihad" expired. Rocket, mortar and machine-gun battles since have centered on the area around Baidoa where the TFG is based. But ICU leaders emphasize that they consider the real enemy to be the Ethiopian forces. "We are at war with Ethiopia, but not with the (Somali) government," ICU leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told Reuters by telephone. (Reuters [2], Dec. 21)
The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that the fighting has claimed dozens of lives, and that that hospitals and clinics in the region have received at least 200 wounded since Dec. 20. (KUNA [3], Dec. 22) Hundreds have also fled their homes, especially in the Daynuunay area, and the towns of Baidoa and Buur Hakaba have swelled with internal refugees. (KUNA [4], Dec. 22) International aid agencies have issued an appeal for $35 million to help deal with more than 34,000 already displaced by Somalia's fighting. (SomaliNet [5], Dec. 20)
See our last posts on the Horn of Africa [6] the proxy war in Somalia [7].
