Thursday, May 1, 2008

Another Imperial disaster: 90,000 civilians flee Mogadishu

It is often forgotten that besides the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the USraelian Empire has also triggered a war by proxy in Somalia when it ordered its Ethiopian stooges to attack and invade Somalia under the pretext that 3 (three!) Al-Qaeda terrorists were hiding there. Soon thereafter the relative stability provided by the Islamic Courts Union was replaced with chaos and warfare. To paraphrase Madelene Albright's words, "this was a price worth paying", at least in the minds of the Neocons running the USraelian Empire.

Check out this recent update on the current situation:

Fierce fighting in the Somali capital has forced some 90,000 people to flee to the outskirts of the city, causing a humanitarian crisis.

Three days of fighting between Ethiopian forces supporting Somalia's interim government and rebels in Mogadishu that began last weekend has now displaced about 88,000 residents, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.

Residents say several dozen people have died in this week's fighting and many have been forced into hiding, Reuters reported.

The clashes have cut the ability of aid workers to respond effectively to what charities call an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa nation.

Inhabitants have been streaming out of the city all week on foot or carried by carts, donkeys and motor vehicles. Many have settled in camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu, where they live in makeshift shelters made of tattered sheets and sticks by the road.

Somalia's UN-backed government is struggling to impose its authority on the country, and its forces in Mogadishu and their Ethiopian allies face daily attacks from the insurgents.

When allied Ethiopian and Somali government troops launched two offensives against insurgent hideouts in Mogadishu earlier this year, hundreds of civilians died and 400,000 fled, according to UN and aid group figures.