Somali government troops chased fighters loyal to the country's newly powerful Islamists from a key southern town, raising the spectre of a head-on clash between the Horn of Africa rivals. Bur Hakaba was a potential flashpoint town because it put the Islamists within 30km of the government's base in Baidoa. It lies on the road from the capital Mogadishu, which the Islamists seized from US-backed warlords in June. "Heavy fighting took place early this morning between government troops and a local militia loyal to the Islamists," said Abdihakim Ahmed, a local resident. He said the militiamen later tried to retake the town. | “One militia was killed and another wounded when they tried to recapture the town...” |
Nearly 400 government troops and about 30 "technicals" - pick-up trucks mounted with heavy weaponry - were stationed at a bridge 5km west of town on the Mogadishu road, with the local militia facing them there, Ahmed said. Ali Jama Jangali, the administration's information minister, said government forces had taken action to restore security. "Bur Hakaba is calm, it is very secure and our troops are in control," Jama told reporters in Baidoa.
Bedri Hassan, a senior Islamist information officer, said Islamist forces were gathered around Lego, a town 55km west of Bur Hakaba on the road to Mogadishu, and would strike the government troops if they remained in Bur Hakaba.