SOMALIA: BAIDOA: TOWN RECOVERS AFTER R-R-A LIBERATION

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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Somali/Natsound Life appears to be returning to normal in Baidoa, the third largest town in Somalia. The town was liberated by the Rahawin Resistance Army, or the R-R-A, from the forces of Hussein Aideed in June of this year. It had been controlled by Aideed's militia for the past four years. The governing militia have started a campaign to seize all illegal weapons in an attempt to control security in the town. Colonel Adam Ali Ahmed deputy head of the R-R-A claims that his forces have managed to repel Aideed's forces. He says his own militia had managed to kill scores of Oromo and Eritrean soldiers, said to be allied with Aideed, however he denied his forces received any assistance from the Ethiopian military. SOUNDBITE: (Somali) "Our forces have spotted Eritrean and Oromo fighters alongside with Aideeds militias. We have managed to repel them all and kill large numbers of them." SUPERCAPTION: Adam Ali Ahmed, RRA Commander SOUNDBITE: (Somali) " Our forces have gone beyond the Bay and Bakol regions and we are confident that we will overrun Kismayo town. We are determined." SUPERCAPTION: Adam Ali Ahmed, RRA Commander Many of the original inhabitants of this town started to stream back after their own militias began the formation of a new civil administration. The new administration also includes a police force, judicial court system and small prison with 53 prisoners most of whom committed criminal offences ranging from murder to petty theft. SOUNDBITE: (Somali) "In total we have 53 prisoners here. All of them convicted by our courts. We have murderers and thieves here and we are determined to put all criminals in prison." SUPERCAPTION: Aden Nour Ali, Prison Warden The prison warden requests international aid and support in order to rehabilitate these unwanted criminals. SOUNDBITE: (Somali) "We are still a new administration and we request the international community and international community to come to our assistance in order to rehabilitate our prisoners and help them to return to their normal lives." SUPERCAPTION: Aden Nour Ali, Prison Warden However the recent success of the R-R-A has also meant that the conflict in Somalia is widening amidst reports of Ethiopian and Eritrean forces joining in the tribal conflict which has plagued Somalia over the last decade. The security situation in Baidoa remains precarious, with Aideed's forces camped approximately 150 kilometers outside Baidoa on the main road to the Somali capital Mogadishu. Beyond the town of Bur-Akaba 60 kilometers from Baidoa the road remains dangerous with bandits and uncontrollable militiamen demanding ransom from passing travellers and truck drivers. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d2140b9ff6ce2e81568232d5ffa9fcf0 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork