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Last week, Abdi Weili Mohammed arrived at Ifo, a sprawling refugee camp in Kenya�s sweltering Daadab area, accompanied by scores of Somalis fleeing renewed fighting in Mogadishu.



Mohammed, 18, was frightened and weak, having walked hundreds of kilometres through the wild to escape bloody gun battles between rival militias.

Like many of the more than 2,000 Somalis who have fled to the camp in the last two months, his worst fear was that the fighting had proved that peace could not last in his country.

"We hoped that with the new president and a government, there would be no more fighting. Now I am not sure and I do not want to return home," he said.

A shaky government was put together in 2004. It raised hopes that anarchy, which has reigned since former dictator Said Barre was ousted in 1991, would come to an end.

After he left, warlords curved off their own turfs and reduced the country into a patchwork of enclaves controlled by clans. The country degenerated into a deadly jungle, where the warlords wielded power with barrels of Kalashnikov rifles.


Renewed clashes


At the time the peace deal was signed, jubilant Somalis hoped that the new president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, and his team of ministers would steer the country out of chaos and into prosperity.

They believed that the warlords, some of who joined the government, had finally been tamed. Not anymore.

Mohammed is one of those who fled after clashes erupted between warlords and Islamic courts, which practice Sharia law, two weeks ago. More than 70 people were killed and nearly 300 others suffered gunshot wounds.

The refugees said the two sides were recruiting youths to take part in the fighting and were preparing for a full-scale war.

"My friends and I fled because we do not want to fight," Mohammed said.

Reports indicated that the combatants were using rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, anti-aircraft guns and AK-47 rifles.

Witnesses said the militias also targeted innocent people, apparently to intimidate them to join their ranks.

"I saw many dead people. Many were children," said Aden Shariff, a witness.

The Red Cross said 30 per cent of the injured at Keysaney Hospital were women and children.

It said in a statement last week: "The Red Cross calls upon all parties, groups and individuals to consider the suffering of the defenceless population and to comply with rules of the international humanitarian law. These rules protect the lives and dignity of those who do not, or who no longer participate in the hostilities."


Exodus into Kenya


The fleeing Somalis said the situation could become worse if the international community does not respond fast and rein in troublemakers.

Hopes tumbled further when three former warlords, who are now in the government, were said to have teamed up to fight militias linked to the Islamic courts.

"If people in government are involved in it, how then can we go back?" posed Diine Siidbakar, a member of the minority Ashraf clan. "The peace is not real. They are just talking but they do not mean it."

He added: "They are telling the world that they are fighting terrorism but it�s a lie."

The fighting has caused an exodus of refugees into Kenya. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said up to 100 Somalis were arriving at Daadab daily. But for many of the fleeing Somalis, it is a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Conditions at the refugee camps are worsening, with UNHCR saying it was short of funds to handle more inflow of refugees.

Already, the 130,000 refugees at Daadab and 100,000 others at Kakuma are facing a 20 per cent cut in daily food rations. The World Food Programme said it had no money for recommended rations.

It needs US$ 19 million to provide adequate rations to refugees between now and December.


Delays in food distribution


With this scenario, many of the new arrivals at Daadab are yet to start getting food rations.

"Every morning, I go to beg for food in the market," said Kartuma Noor, scooping a handful of boiled millet from a pot. She gave the same to her six children before heading to the market on her begging mission.

"What I get is not enough, it is just something to keep us going."

An official, Mr Niaz Ahmad, said delays in food distribution to new arrivals were caused by the long registration process, as officials tried to verify genuine cases.

"It is a desperate situation. The majority of newcomers are sick and there are pregnant women too," said Ahmad.

Some of the refugees have fled from severe famine that has hit the country, the worst in 10 years. Others are from minority clans and said they were prone to attacks by bigger clans.

The Islamic courts have put in place stringent regulations. Some of them have led to loss of livelihoods, as businesses thought to contravene their teachings were closed down. Abdi Fitah, 28, said he used to run a business screening movies, but it was shut down on allegations it promoted western values and religions.

Due to such heavy-handedness, the courts have come under criticism from human rights groups. President Yusuf has asked for UN and African Union peacekeepers, but some of his ministers have opposed the call.

However, lessons learnt during the UN mission in the 1990s, when militias killed dozens of soldiers, have forced the international community to tread carefully before committing itself.


Source: The Standard (Kenya)