Somalia: Thousands Forced to Flee in New Somali Clashes

Mogadishu---Thousands of internally displaced Somali refugees are fleeing to the capital, Mogadishu, to avoid heavy fighting in the southern town of Afgoye after African Union forces launched an assault in the militia controlled town.

Thousands of refugees with trucks full of their belongings are streaming into Mogadishu fleeing the Afgoye corridor where AU and Somali government forces have engaged the Islamic militant, al-Shabab since Wednesday in heavy artillery shelling and mortar fires for control of the town, 30km south of the capital.

A BBC correspondent in the area says heavily armed AU troops are positioned 10km within the town, where up to 400,000 people are said to be living mainly in sprawling roadside camps in unsanitary conditions, rife with hunger.

This comes after the Somali government earlier this month said it was evicting thousands of displaced persons inhibiting government buildings in Mogadishu, in its plans to rebuild, largely funded by the Turkish government.

Most people in Afgoye are those said to have fled the capital in 2007, when the al-Shabab fighters launched a resistance against the Transitional government, and now are heading back to Mogadishu’s already overcrowded camps which have no basic provisions.

The al-Shabab is poised to face a strong blow if the town is taken, amounting to their increasing loss of territory after they were recently driven out of the capital, remaining only with pockets in the southern region.

Kenyan forces launched an incursion into Somali territory to seek al-Shabab fighters it blamed for a series of kidnappings in its territory, an operation that has claimed the group its other strategic coastal towns in the south.

The group which recently joined ranks with the international terror group, al-Qaeda, has resorted to suicide bombing in the capital following their drive out. Eleven people were killed earlier this month including two members of parliament in a suicide car bomb attack near a cafe in Mogadishu.

Somalia has had no functional government since ousting of dictatorial leader Siad Barre in 1991. Nearly 1.5 million Somalis have been forced from their homes and are internally displaced.

Tripoli, Libya

Militias Seen to Threaten Stability as Country Marks Revolution Anniversary

Human rights group, Amnesty International has warned that armed militias in Libya pose a threat to the achieved stability and security, as the country gears to celebrate the first anniversary of the revolution that deposed former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

A report released by the group ahead of the Friday’s celebrations of the February 17 uprising reveals of groups of former revolutionaries engaging in gross human rights violations with impunity, unchecked by the interim government.

The report based on research conducted in Libya between January and February, gives accounts of pro-Gaddafi detainees being suspended in contorted positions, beaten for hours with whips, cables, plastic hoses metal chains and bars, and given electric shocks.

At least 12 detainees held by the militias are reported to have died since September last year after being tortured. Among those abused were African migrants and refugees, said to be pro-Gaddafi mercenaries.

"Nobody is holding these militias responsible," Donatella Rovera, senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty International, told the AP news agency.

 Last month, the UN said about 8,000 pro-Gaddafi supporters were being held by militia groups.

In the former rebel stronghold city of Benghazi, residents marked the celebrations with lots of excitement mixed with concerns over the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) not being transparent enough.

There were tight security measures in the city on Wednesday, as residents celebrated the new-found freedom after four decades of autocratic rule, where criticism was off-limits.

There is fear though that the NTC is slowly losing its hold on the rebels who have been embroiled in several clashes over territory and cases of handling Gaddafi loyalists since end of the revolution in October following the capture and killing of Muammar Gaddafi.

The interim government has said it’s trying to re-assert authority as security and political woes continue to mount in the run-up to the country's first free elections in June.

On Tuesday thousands of fighters from western Libya paraded on the streets of the capital, Tripoli, displaying heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, while firing in the air.