 MOGADISHU, Rival militias in arid southwestern Somalia battled Saturday for control over a village with pastures and wells. Twelve combatants died, and hundreds of residents fled, according to those in the area.
| Golly. Why am I not feeling broken up at all? From whence come these strong feelings of apathy? |
The 2 1/2-hour clash began early Saturday, when Yontar community fighters attacked the village of Idale in a bid to seize it from the Hubeyr community. Hundreds of people fled their homes in the Bai region before the fighting ended at dawn, elder Salimow Sheikh said. Combatants used assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, Liban Mohamed Nageye, a nurse, said in a radio interview from a neighboring village. He said 12 fighters died.
| Twelve more boneheads died for a patch of dirt. |
| Yes. It's another pointless battle fought over an objective of no value by people who have nothing to do with their lives. |
Somalia has had no functioning central government since clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Warlords then turned on each other, plunging the country of 7 million into chaos.
| Actually, it plunged long ago, measured in geological terms ... |
| ... where it remains, apparently forever. |
The transitional government formed during peace talks in neighboring Kenya is now divided, after the president and prime minister set up operations about 60 miles northwest of Mogadishu, saying the capital was unsafe. The parliamentary speaker, dozens of lawmakers and warlords in Mogadishu, however, have argued the decision was unconstitutional. |