Paris AFP (in English) 1424 GMT – Report by Michel Sailhan

Somali rebels making steady progress in the center of this East African country were Monday within 50 kilometers (30 miles) of Mogadishu, where daily life is increasingly in a state of anarchy.

Only five months after taking up arms against President Mohamed Siad Barre, in power since 1969, insurgents of the United Somali Congress (USC) hold a major sector of central territory stretching about 500 kilometres (300 miles) north-east of here. Their headquarters is at Ceelbuur, 350 kilometers (210 miles) from Mogadishu, and they hold Ceeldheere, close to the Indian Ocean coast.

Twelve days ago the rebels captured Buulobarde, 200 kilometers (120 miles) away on the main road to the north. They have cut the road at several points, including Jawhar, a little more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the capital, and launched their third attack since September at that point last week.

The USC rebels have twin barrel antiaircraft guns of Chinese manufacture mounted on trucks, light and heavy mortars, U.S.-made Browning machineguns, and FAL, AK-47, M-16 and G-3 assault rifles. On a four day tour of rebel zones, the first armed elements were encountered after a two hour drive from here along a sandy track.

The army, officially said to number 65,000 men but estimated by Western diplomats to have only 10,000 soldiers because of widespread desertions, has to face the Congress insurgents in the centre, the Somali National Movement fighting in the north since 1988, and the Patriotic Movement active to the south.

At the weekend, the Defence Ministry urged former troops and all able-bodied young men to enlist to defend national unity. Prime Minister Mohamed Hawadle Madar on Sunday told the state news agency SONNA that the armed forces had been placed on maximum alert against what he termed “armed bandits.”

Mogadishu is plunging day by day into a state of political and social anarchy. Nomads fleeing the fighting have swollen the city’s population to 2.5 million people-a quarter of the country’s population, according to the mayor. Power and water supplies are cut every day. A defacto curfew keeps foreigners and diplomats holed up at home once night falls.

Gunshots ring out nightly as gangs swoop to steal the all-terrain vehicles used by international organisations-a dozen were seen during the tour of rebel zones.

Shooting broke out on Sunday morning in the Yakshid, Karan and Wadajir districts where the government was distributing rice to the needy from a donation of 27,000 tonnes by Italy. Food riots ensued, and American Embassy personnel were immediately told to stay off the streets as a temporary measure.

The city is poorly protected, with just a few control posts on the roads which are tarmacked, and is regularly infiltrated by the USC rebels. They sent an armed escort to take this reporter from the city centre to tour their zones. The markets have vegetables and meat, but prices climb every day. Inflation for the past year was at least 200 per cent, according to the World Bank.

Politically, President Siad Barre is committed to a pro-gramme of reforms, and a new constitution enshrining multiparty politics has been approved. Negotiations between government and opposition representatives have been scheduled for Wednesday next week in Cairo. Whether the various armed groups take part is being negotiated and will depend on developments in the military sphere, diplomats said.

_{FBIS-AFR-90-233, 4 Dec. 1990, pp. 5-6}