Mogadishu/Geneva (Earth Times) - The mayor of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday urged civilians to flee as heavy fighting continued between government forces and Islamist insurgents. The fighting began Wednesday afternoon when insurgents pushing to topple the weak Western-backed government attacked government- controlled areas in north Mogadishu.
Dozens of people, mainly civilians, have died in the crossfire.
"I suggest to all Somali civilians that they flee battle zones whenever they feel fighting could begin," Mayor Abdirisaq Mohamed Nur told journalists.
The government has been shelling positions of al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group al-Shabaab since Wednesday, but Nur said this was not the beginning of a government offensive that has been in offing for weeks.
The insurgents have penned the government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, into small areas of Mogadishu. The push is aimed at trying to regain some semblance of control of the capital.
"The ongoing fighting is not the intended crackdown against the rebels, but that will come soon," he said.
Civilians streamed out of Mogadishu when rumors of the attack begin circulating in early February, adding to hundreds of thousands sheltering in Afgoye, west of Mogadishu.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said that 33,000 civilians have fled Mogadishu since the start of February while some 100,000 people have fled their homes nationwide since the start of the year.
"UNCHR is extremely worried about the worsening situation for civilians in Somalia," UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva, adding that access to fleeing civilians was limited by the poor security situation.
The Horn of Africa nation has been embroiled in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
More than 20,000 people have died in the current insurgency, which kicked off in early 2007 after Ethiopian forces invaded to oust an Islamist regime that ruled for six months in 2006.
According to UNHCR, almost 2 million Somalis have been displaced by the conflict, either sheltering in makeshift camps within Somalia or trekking to refugee camps in Kenya and other neighboring countries.
Dozens of people, mainly civilians, have died in the crossfire.
"I suggest to all Somali civilians that they flee battle zones whenever they feel fighting could begin," Mayor Abdirisaq Mohamed Nur told journalists.
The government has been shelling positions of al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group al-Shabaab since Wednesday, but Nur said this was not the beginning of a government offensive that has been in offing for weeks.
The insurgents have penned the government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, into small areas of Mogadishu. The push is aimed at trying to regain some semblance of control of the capital.
"The ongoing fighting is not the intended crackdown against the rebels, but that will come soon," he said.
Civilians streamed out of Mogadishu when rumors of the attack begin circulating in early February, adding to hundreds of thousands sheltering in Afgoye, west of Mogadishu.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said that 33,000 civilians have fled Mogadishu since the start of February while some 100,000 people have fled their homes nationwide since the start of the year.
"UNCHR is extremely worried about the worsening situation for civilians in Somalia," UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva, adding that access to fleeing civilians was limited by the poor security situation.
The Horn of Africa nation has been embroiled in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
More than 20,000 people have died in the current insurgency, which kicked off in early 2007 after Ethiopian forces invaded to oust an Islamist regime that ruled for six months in 2006.
According to UNHCR, almost 2 million Somalis have been displaced by the conflict, either sheltering in makeshift camps within Somalia or trekking to refugee camps in Kenya and other neighboring countries.
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