THE SILLY ADVENTURE OF THE MAREEXAN : DAGAALKII MAREEXAN FIQI MUXUMMED KU QAADAY

WAR IN MUDUG REGION BETWEEN MAREEHAN AND FIQI MUXUMMED DIR ON ONE HAND AND REER AGOON AND SACAD EAST OF GALKACAYO ON THE OTHER HAND


Author: IRIN | Source/Publisher: IRIN | Date: Wednesday, 17 December 2003
At least 60 people were killed and another 90 wounded in renewed fighting on Tuesday in the northwest of Galgadud Region, according to local sources in the regional capital, Dhusa-Mareb.

The latest fighting broke out on between the Darod subclan of the Marehan and the Dir subclan of Fiqi Muhumud, and was concentrated in and around the village of Herale, some 80 km northwest of Dhusa-Mareb, said Nur Mu'allim Dhere, a member of the Dir clan.

Last month Herale, which is populated by the Fiqi Mahmud, was also the scene of serious fighting between the two sides which left over 50 people dead.

Nur told IRIN that in the latest clash, 18 fighters on his side had been killed and 29 wounded, while the other side suffered 25 deaths.

Sources in Abud Waaq, 40 km west of the Herale, where the Marehan have taken their casualties, told IRIN that at least 30 dead and 70 wounded had been brought in.

According to sources from a neutral clan in the area, what started out as "revenge killings" had now flared up into a "fully-fledged land war".

"Basically, the Marehan want the Fiqi Muhumud out of the area, and until one group gives up, the fighting will probably continue," the sources said, adding that heavy weapons had been used in Tuesday's fighting.

Intensive mediation efforts on the part of elders and religious leaders from neutral clans seem to have failed. "We have been unable to bring the two sides together to start talking," said Ilmi Hirsi, a clan elder. "However, we are persevering with our efforts and hope that cooler heads will prevail."

The situation was reported calm on Wednesday, with both sides burying their dead and taking the injured to hospitals.
NAIROBI, 10 Jul 2003 (IRIN) - Two days of heavy fighting in the south of Mudug region, have left at least 43 people dead and over 90 injured, a local journalist in the regional capital Galkayo told IRIN on Thursday.

The fighting broke out on Tuesday between the Sa'ad, Habar Gedir subclan and the Dir, and was concentrated in and around the villages of Towfiq and Awle, some 200 km east of Galkayo, the journalist Dahir Abdulkadir Aflow said. The two villages are populated by the Dir.

The clashes were triggered by revenge killings for the deaths of two Sa'ad men in Galkayo last week, but the ensuing escalation of violence was also attributed to disagreements over water and grazing in the area, Aflow said. "It is more about water and grazing land right now."

"Unfortunately, this is something that happens when nomads in search of pasture and water collide with each other," he said. This particular clash between the two clans had been "exacerbated by the easy availability of heavy weapons".

"Previously they used spears or guns but now both sides are using technicals [battlewagons fitted with heavy machine guns]," he said. "In an area with little cover for concealment, the casualty figures are bound to be high."

He added that the casualty toll was likely to rise once the fighting stopped and both sides could take their wounded to hospitals.

Abdullahi Dayib of the Dir clan told IRIN that among those killed from his clan were three women and four children.

The fighting has reportedly displaced hundreds of families who have no access to wells or water points, Dayib said. He stressed the need for help, "but given the lack of roads and current insecurity in the area, I doubt if anyone will come to their aid".