Somalia: Islamic leader says 'it's war'

Bodies lay in the streets and fighters pounded each other with heavy artillery and mortars for a third day today as Somalia’s Islamic leader announced the country was now at war, leaving a day-old peace initiative in tatters.

The Ethiopian-backed interim government fought for control of strategic areas close to its base against fighters from the rival Islamic movement.

The clashes threaten to spiral into a major conflict in this volatile region, sucking in Ethiopia and its bitter rival Eritrea. Analysts believe Ethiopia may soon raise the stakes by deploying attack helicopters in support of the government.

An Associated Press photographer saw 19 bodies of Islamic fighters in Moode Moode, a town nine miles from the government garrison town of Baidoa, where fighting had taken place yesterday.

Three Islamic fighters were captured. Aweys Hassan Ma’alim, 25, said he had been forced to fight by the Islamic movement. Another, Adan Abdullahi Mohammed, said he wanted to fight Ethiopians and “die for the sake of God in holy war”.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ibrahim Shukri Abuu-Zeynab, a spokesman for the Islamic movement, said it had captured Idale, a town 37 miles south-west of Baidoa and scene of fighting on Tuesday, killing 200 Ethiopian troops. The claim could not be verified.

As shelling continued close to Baidoa, Islamic leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys called for all Somalis to join the fight against neighbouring Ethiopia.

“All Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia,” he said. “If you cannot fight you can contribute in other ways to the effort,” Aweys added by telephone. Eritrea is accused of supporting the Islamic group.

The United Nations appealed for calm, saying fighting would prevent aid from reaching hundreds of thousands of people in dire need of help because of hunger and flooding.

Heavy fighting broke out as an ultimatum for Ethiopian troops to leave the country expired. Three days of clashes between the Islamic fighters and government forces, newly trained by Ethiopian troops, have left more than 100 people dead.

Ethiopia denies its forces are involved in the clashes, but says it has deployed several hundred military trainers in support of the transitional government.

Yesterday, Aweys told an EU envoy that he was willing to return to peace talks with the Somali transitional government.

But today, he said: “The country is in a state of war.”

In Ethiopia, the government said in a statement released late yesterday that the Islamic group was warmongering and not interested in peace.

EU envoy Louis Michel, in response to a question about Eritrea and Ethiopia’s involvement, had said yesterday: “Somalia is suffering because some people are using it as a battlefield for other issues.”