SOMALIA: MOGADISHU: CONDITION OF THE CAPITAL JULY 1999

(8 Jul 1999) English/Nat

There is hardly a building not visibly damaged by the civil war which has gripped Somalia, and its capital Mogadishu for most of the last nine years.

Yet little effort has been made at reconstruction as the fighting continues amongst rival factions that have carved the country into warring sections.

At last there seems to be a resurgence in the power of the courts and an apparent return to normality.

A forlorn shell of its past that sprawls for miles along the Indian Ocean coastline, Mogadishu is carved into fiefdoms run by warlords.

There has been no central government in Somalia since Hussein Aidid's father joined forces with another Hawiye clan leader, Mahdi Mohamed, against Siad Barre in January 1991.

As Siad Barre's forces fled, they turned on each other and Somalia descended into chaos.

In the nine years since, clan-based faction leaders turned the country's towns into battlegrounds where banditry, extortion and rape were commonplace.

Attempts to reconcile what have become powerful economic and territorial interests originally based on clans have made little headway.

For several years an invisible "green line" divided the north ruled by Ali Mahdi Mohammed and the south run by Mohammed Hussein Aided.

The warlords have since joined forces, but the city has not gained much.

Now the courts have stepped in to fill the void in this Muslim country.

They pay militiamen laid off by the warlords, round up gangsters and thugs, try and convict them and lock them up in the first prisons that have functioned in south Mogadishu since 1991.

It may be a fluke - a temporary lull, as one faction leader suggested - but for the moment, Mogadishu is experiencing a return to normality not remembered since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in January 1991 and the country fell apart.

But it is normality in the balance as rival warlords still compete for standing.

One of the main faction leaders Osman At, a rival of Hussein Aided, isn't optimistic of a proper power balance until there is some sort of centralised control away from the factions.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Today there's no government and no local authority and until those are established I don't see how one can evaluate the power of one group over the other."
SUPER CAPTION: Osman At, Mogadishu faction leader

Another problem he sees is that of neighbouring Ethiopia and Eritrea making Somalia their extended battleground.

The two nations have begun supporting rival Somali clans, threatening to worsen the civil war in one of the world's poorest countries.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"From day one during the evacuation of the UN, Somalia could have been brought together, but everybody left us to solve our own problems in our own way with others also playing their game."
SUPER CAPTION: Osman At, Mogadishu faction leader

At blames the West for not helping the Somalis after the U-N pulled out of the country, leaving them to sort out their problems on their own.

The return to normal life is appearing on the streets.

This radio station - owned by Osman At - broadcasts news and music in the Somali language.

And the Somali reputation for business is evident in the colourful markets and inventively decorated money exchange shops.

Also, in Mogadishu now, it's possible to buy all manner of electronic equipment - from audio cassettes to satellite dishes - cheaper than just about anywhere else.

There is no government, so no customs, with most of the hi-tech goods coming from Dub.


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