Somali faction vows to shoot down planes using
Balidogle airport
MOGADISHU, Feb 10 (AFP) - An armed faction in Somalia
warned Thursday that as from Saturday it would shoot
down any planes using an airport 90 kilometers (56
miles) west of the capital and controlled by a rival
clan.
The airport at Balidogle, controlled by warlord
Hussein Mohamed Aidid, is a major gateway to southern
Somalia and is used by the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) as well as a number of commerical
operators.
"Missiles will be fired against planes and the
vicinity might be also bombarded if necessary because
our enemy used the facility as a militia garrison to
invade Burhakaba," said Mohamed Aden Qalinle, a member
of the executive committee of the Rahanwein Resistance
Army (RRA) and governor of the Bay region. "Any group
that undermines the ultimatum does so at its own
risk," added Qalinle, speaking to AFP by telephone
from Baidoa, the main town in Bay region.
The threat came a day after a newly-formed RRA
splinter group calling itself the Rahanwein Salvation
Army (RSA), allied to Aidid, claimed to have captured
Burhakaba, a town 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of
the capital, in an attempt to dislodge their former
comrades from the town. Qalinle denied that his group
had lost southern parts of Burhakaba and claimed his
men had killed 15 members of the RSA and neutralised
two battle wagons.
"The attackers of Burhakaba on Tuesday abandoned their
killed militia and retreated back to Mogadishu", he
said.
He said these attackers included Ethiopian fighters
from the Oromo region, Al-Ittihad Al-Islam extremists,
Aidid's men as well as the RSA.
RSA spokesman Abdulkadir Mohamed Borje said Thursday
his forces retreated back for tactical reason after
inflicting heavy damages to the RRA. .