Somali insurgents raid foreign aid offices

MOGADISHU — Somali Islamist rebels from the Shebab and Hezb al-Islam groups stormed the offices of international aid agencies in the restive western city of Beledweyn, officials and witnesses said.



Fighters stormed the compound and made away with computers and other equipment following heavy fighting between insurgents and pro-government militias in the town, located 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Mogadishu.



"There was heavy fighting in the city this morning and Islamists took control after the clashes," a local humanitarian worker told AFP on condition of anonymity.



"Some of their fighters stormed the offices of two humanitarian agencies, taking weapons from the security guards as well as computers," the worker said.



Other sources and witnesses said the offices were being used by Save The Children and the UN World Health Organisation.



"Dozens of heavily armed militants entered the offices and took some equipment with them," Beledweyn resident and eyewitness Ali Husein said.



"They briefly held staff members but later released them, ordering them not to leave the compound until given further instructions," he added.



"I saw some of the staff members taken away blindfolded from the Save the Children office," Munir Adan, another witness, said.



The Shebab have routinely raided humanitarian offices in the areas they control in recent months, accusing most foreign aid agencies of spying against them and supporting the internationally-backed transitional federal government.



In some regions of southern and central Somalia, the Shebab have imposed stringent conditions on foreign humanitarian NGOs wishing to contribute to the aid effort in the war-stricken country.



Beledweyn, a key city lying near the border with Ethiopia, has changed hands countless times recently as Hezb al-Islam, the Shebab, Sufi group Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, government forces and various local warlords vie for supremacy.