Somalia -- Update on Fighting

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 001463

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

CAIRO FOR A/S FRAZER

DEPT FOR AF/E

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2017
TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL MOPS SO ET UG
SUBJECT: Somalia -- Update on Fighting

Classified by PolOff John O'Leary. Reasons
1.4 (b) & (d)

Ref: A) Nairobi 1456 B) Nairobi 1429 C)
Nairobi 1440


1. (C) Heavy fighting continued in
Mogadishu on Saturday (March 31) resulting
in considerable damage to involved
neighborhoods and innumerable casualties.
Ethiopian forces made more effective use of
tanks and artillery to take advantage of the
difficulty opposing forces had in countering
these weapons. Attempts to knock out
Ethiopian artillery firing from Villa
Somalia (the presidential palace) failed,
but a Ugandan soldier at the palace became
AMISOM's first fatality in Somalia. The
Ethiopians succeeded in opening a corridor
from Villa Somalia to the stadium to relieve
Ethiopian troops besieged there. Ethiopian
helicopters continued to attack opposition
targets in primarily Hawiye/Haber Gedir
neighborhoods. For the most part,
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops
remained on the sidelines as the Ethiopians
and the Hawiye slugged it out.


2. (C) Resistance to Ethiopian attacks
began to ebb on Sunday (April 1) as
Ethiopian forces advanced and as opposing
fighters ran low on food, water, and
munitions. The Ethiopians brought in
reinforcements on both Saturday and Sunday
(March 31 and April 1). The elders of the
Hawiye clan called for a truce to begin at
2200 local on April 1. According to TFG
security chief Mohamed "Darawish" Farah, as
well as Somali press reporting, the TFG does
not recognize such a cease fire on the
grounds that the battle is with Islamic
militants and "terrorists" and with wayward
clan militia--not with the Hawiye clan
(reftel A). The Hawiye truce request calls
for negotiations with the Ethiopians, for
the Ethiopians to withdraw to positions held
before the fighting began on the 30th, and
for the Ethiopians and the TFG to release
all prisoners taken during the battle.


3. (C) Sporadic firing continues in
Mogadishu today (April 2). According to
Farah, the TFG, and perhaps the Ethiopians,
plan to search house-to-house for
"terrorists" and weapons beginning in the
next day or two. According to the press,
TFG Deputy Defense Minister Jelle warned
Mogadishu residents in certain areas to
abandon their homes because their
neighborhoods may be targeted. (COMMENT: It
is worth noting that the current round of
hostilities was set off in part by President
Yusuf's declared intent to forcibly disarm
Haber Gedir neighborhoods in Mogadishu. In
1993, the fighting that led to the deaths of
18 U.S. soldiers started when Pakistani
peacekeepers attempted to forcibly disarm
the Hawiye/Haber Gedir/Sa'ad. End comment).


4. (C) Except at the Villa Somalia, the
Ugandan AMISOM contingent stayed out of the
fighting and remained hunkered down, mostly
at the international airport. Nonetheless,
city residents are reportedly angry that the
Ugandans did not condemn the Ethiopians and
that they allowed the Ethiopians to stage
their helicopters from the airport.

Ranneberger