Militias and secular rivals fight outside Somali capital
01/06/2006 - 11:20:22Hundreds of Islamic militiamen today battled secular rivals and prevented them from recapturing a base they lost in the Somali capital, leaving at least three dead and seven others wounded.
The fighting outside Huruwaa, a district in northern Mogadishu, highlights the growing military supremacy of the fundamentalist Islamic militia who have steadily expanded their control of parts of Mogadishu since February.
The battle began after Islamic militia fighters confronted dozens of secular combatants who were heading into Mogadishu to launch a counter offensive against their rivals.
Hundreds of people fled from their homes near Mogadishu’s livestock market, fearing that secular militias were likely to attack the area to recapture a base they lost to Islamic fighters yesterday.
