CAIRO – The Somali capital is gaining notoriety as the world's most hostile city where nobody and no place is safe, with the latest suicide bombing claiming the lives of 19 people, including three ministers. "Militiamen break into your house, take all your money and valuables and rape your women," Abukar Mohallin Mouse, a 60-year-old porter, told The Independent on Thursday, December 3.
"It happens so often…And you can't even complain, because then they will have the pleasure of killing you."
Lawlessness and anarchy overshadow life in Mogadishu, the scene of almost daily attacks between government troops and African peacekeepers from one side and Al-Qaeda-allied militants from the other.
Militiamen roam the capital city on their machine-gun-equipped pick-ups, a grim trademark of the war.
Corpses that litter the streets and the non-stopping sound of grenades have become a daily fact of life.
A suicide blast tore through a Mogadishu hotel earlier Thursday, killing at least 18 people, including three ministers.
The bombing, which targeted a students' graduation ceremony, is one of the most serious against the government in recent months.
Somalia has sunk into deadly violence after militants from Al-Shabab and its Hizbul Islam allied militia launched a deadly offensive in May against the internationally-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Civilians bear the brunt of a war that has caused thousands of deaths and displaced 1.5 million people in the past three years alone, according to the UN and local human rights groups.
Apathy
Mohammed Farah Siad, a local businessman whose house stands on the frontline between the government and Al-Shabaab, always keeps the gate of his house open to give shelter to civilians caught in the crossfire.
"It's the only way to survive here, we have to help each other," he explains, with his voice barely audible above the bursts of machine-gun fire and the roar of rocket-propelled grenades flying back and forth outside his compound.
"Always call your friends before venturing out and keep your cell phone with you to receive updates on clashes. It can save your life."
The government blames the growing strength of Al-Shabab on international apathy.
"If we had received even 30 percent of the €250m pledged to us by the European Union, Al-Shabaab wouldn't be in Somalia today," Deputy Premier Abdulrahman Adan Ibrahim said with bitterness.
"We are fighting a group openly linked to al-Qaeda, which has brought an ideology that has nothing to do with Somali culture."
Sheikh Omar Ali Rooble, a regional leader of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jamee'a, a moderate Islamic group allied to the government, agrees.
"We are receiving more and more reports of foreign fighters coming to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab's ranks," he added.
"They don't speak our language and are not fighting for the sake of this country. They're killing our people and digging our graves, that's why we were forced to take up arms. They claim to defend Islam, but Somalia is 100 percent Muslim already."
Abukar Mohallin Mouse, a porter, laments the good old days in Mogadishu.
"When there was peace, this city was one of the most beautiful in the world," he recalls bitterly.
"I really fear I will die before this war is over."
Source: IslamOnline
"It happens so often…And you can't even complain, because then they will have the pleasure of killing you."
Lawlessness and anarchy overshadow life in Mogadishu, the scene of almost daily attacks between government troops and African peacekeepers from one side and Al-Qaeda-allied militants from the other.
Militiamen roam the capital city on their machine-gun-equipped pick-ups, a grim trademark of the war.
Corpses that litter the streets and the non-stopping sound of grenades have become a daily fact of life.
A suicide blast tore through a Mogadishu hotel earlier Thursday, killing at least 18 people, including three ministers.
The bombing, which targeted a students' graduation ceremony, is one of the most serious against the government in recent months.
Somalia has sunk into deadly violence after militants from Al-Shabab and its Hizbul Islam allied militia launched a deadly offensive in May against the internationally-backed government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Civilians bear the brunt of a war that has caused thousands of deaths and displaced 1.5 million people in the past three years alone, according to the UN and local human rights groups.
Apathy
Mohammed Farah Siad, a local businessman whose house stands on the frontline between the government and Al-Shabaab, always keeps the gate of his house open to give shelter to civilians caught in the crossfire.
"It's the only way to survive here, we have to help each other," he explains, with his voice barely audible above the bursts of machine-gun fire and the roar of rocket-propelled grenades flying back and forth outside his compound.
"Always call your friends before venturing out and keep your cell phone with you to receive updates on clashes. It can save your life."
The government blames the growing strength of Al-Shabab on international apathy.
"If we had received even 30 percent of the €250m pledged to us by the European Union, Al-Shabaab wouldn't be in Somalia today," Deputy Premier Abdulrahman Adan Ibrahim said with bitterness.
"We are fighting a group openly linked to al-Qaeda, which has brought an ideology that has nothing to do with Somali culture."
Sheikh Omar Ali Rooble, a regional leader of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jamee'a, a moderate Islamic group allied to the government, agrees.
"We are receiving more and more reports of foreign fighters coming to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab's ranks," he added.
"They don't speak our language and are not fighting for the sake of this country. They're killing our people and digging our graves, that's why we were forced to take up arms. They claim to defend Islam, but Somalia is 100 percent Muslim already."
Abukar Mohallin Mouse, a porter, laments the good old days in Mogadishu.
"When there was peace, this city was one of the most beautiful in the world," he recalls bitterly.
"I really fear I will die before this war is over."
Source: IslamOnline
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