Uganda troops serving as part of Amisom peace keeping forces have been accused of taking part in the clan fighting between Habargidir and Biyamaal.
Elders from the Habargidir clan today held a press conference in Mogadishu and alleged that Ugandan soldiers have been arming rival Biyamaal clan militia in the last three days.
“ We don’t understand this alliance between Biyamaal and Amisom but they will regret and we are ready to fight them in the daylight” Imam Khalif Roble of the Habargidir clan told journalists.
Imam Roble now demands that Amisom financiers withdraw its assistance and investigate where its funds were been channeled.
“Habargidir is well known in fighting. We forced the US troops out of Somalia in 1993 and brought down the BlackHawk” Imam Roble added.
The Amisom bases in question according to Radio Dalsan’s investigative reporter Mohamed Abukar is No.50 and Marka where it is alleged that Biyamaal commanders who are part of the Somali National Army used the bases.
Biyamaal operations commanders have been identified as Abdullahi Ahmed Ali Waafow, Sheikh Nur Umarey, and Hassan Shuuti Daqare.
But speaking to Radio Dalsan’s Mohamed Abukar one of the Biyamaal commanders alleged that their “Alliance” with Amisom was to counter alleged “Alliance” between Habargidir and the insurgent group Alshabaab.
The commander confirmed receiving arms from the Uganda troops but Radio Dalsan’s efforts to get Amisom’s part of the story remained fruitless as our calls and email went unanswered.
The Biyamaal and Habargidir have had an on off conflict since the civil war erupted in Somalia in 1991 but the latest fighting was triggered over land ownership from 2012. Biyamaal have claimed to own most of the urban and farming centers in Lower Shabelle while Habargidir have been investing widely in the same region threatening its rival clans.
An Amisom sponsored peace talks was held in September 2016 at the Halane Amisom base camp but Habargidir elders later rejected the outcome of the meeting.
According to Somali analyst Abdi Hared the Biyamaal were forced into the controversial alliance with Amisom following numerous attacks by Alshabaab.
Lower Shabelle is one of the most productive regions in Somalia and has been a theatre of conflict as warlords fought over its control. On paper Lower Shabelle is supposed to be under the administration of the South West State formed in 2014 but on the ground it is under the control of SNA, Amisom and Habargidir and Biyamaal clan militia.
