Top UN envoy for Somalia on Saturday deplored the recent killings of innocent victims and the resulting displacement of people in Kismayu, south of the Horn of Africa nation.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN special representative for Somalia, said that the fighting was to control the port for resource generation and not, as portrayed in some places, a political or other issue.
"I call upon all parties to the conflict in Somalia to respect international human rights and humanitarian law, and to stand by their commitments under the Djibouti agreement," said Ould-Abdallah. "I convey my sympathy to the victims and their families."
The UN envoy's statement came a day after Somali insurgents seized the strategic southern port of Kismayu from a pro-government clan militia in fighting that killed at least 70 people.
Shaikh Ibrahim Shukri of the Islamic courts says Islamic militants have fought clan militias who controlled the Somali portcity of Kismayu at the request of residents.
Shukri said on Saturday that Kismayu "will remain under Islamic control."
But in a statement issued in Nairobi, Ould-Abdallah said he was deeply saddened by the large number of deaths during recent fighting in Afgoye and Mogadishu areas last weekend.
According to reports from the field, a large number of civilians were killed in what appeared to be indiscriminate attacks on the road between Afgoye and Mogadishu.
Sources indicate that several victims had gunshot wounds and suggest more than 2,000 persons have been displaced from the area because of the violence. Both sides to the conflict accuse each other of the violations.
Ould-Abdallah said the acts might amount to serious violations of international law, for which those responsible may be held accountable.
The Islamic courts controlled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for six months in 2006.
In December that year, Ethiopian troops moved in to back Somalia's fragile government and ousted the Islamic militants.
Meanwhile, gunmen kidnapped two western journalists on Saturday near Somalia's capital Mogadishu, reports reaching here from Mogadishu said.
The pair, believed to be an Australian man and a Canadian woman, were apparently seized during a visit to camps for displaced civilians.
Source:Xinhua
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