Pro-government militia seizes second Somali town

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Pro-government militiamen in southern Somalia have seized a second town from rebels as President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's fragile administration seeks to crush the insurgents, witnesses said Wednesday.

Western security agencies say Somalia, which has been torn by civil war for the past 18 years, has become a haven for militants plotting attacks in the Horn of Africa and beyond.

The international community is trying to bolster Ahmed's U.N.-backed government, which until this week only controlled small pockets of the coastal capital Mogadishu.

Residents in Gedo region, which borders Kenya and Ethiopia, said heavily armed militiamen including the Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca group swept into Luuq town after seizing Bulahawa Monday.

Local man Ahmed Mohamed said Luuq had been under the control of Hizbul Islam rebels, who fled as their foes approached.

"They have regrouped outside the town and fighting might start," he said, adding that the pro-government militia was now occupying the strategic town's police station.

Luuq businessman Yusuf Hure said both sides appeared to be receiving reinforcements, and that shops and markets remained closed for fear of clashes. Many residents had fled the town.

Monday, Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca forces chased another insurgent group, al Shabaab, out of Gedo's Bulahawa town without firing a shot. The United States accuses al Shabaab of being al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia.

Wednesday, Somali members of parliament voted overwhelmingly to declare a state of emergency while the government battles the rebels. The move means Ahmed can make major decisions without having to consult parliament.

AHMED HAS U.S. SUPPORT

Violence in Somalia has killed more than 18,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and uprooted another 1 million.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to increase Washington's support for Ahmed's government after meeting him Kenya, including additional funding.

The United States has sent more than 40 tons of weapons and ammunitions to the administration in Mogadishu, but it was not clear whether that had any connection with this week's gains by the pro-government militias in Gedo region.

An al Shabaab spokesman in southern Somalia, Sheikh Hassan Yaqub, told Reuters by telephone that the group had sent more fighters to Gedo to take back Bulahawa and Luuq.

"We know those militia are backed by Ethiopia ... we will defend ourselves," Yaqub said.

Al Shabaab and its insurgent allies have been in control of much of the impoverished country's southern and central regions, imposing a harsh interpretation of Islam that is rejected by many Somalis, who are traditionally moderate Muslims.

The pro-government militia says it wants to drive the rebels from the south central town of Baidoa and strategic southern port of Kismayu. A spokesman for the fighters that seized Luuq said Ethiopian soldiers had accompanied them.

"We are going to recapture Kismayu and Bay (region). There are Ethiopian troops with us," said Isaq Huru Ali.

Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement from Mogadishu. The insurgency has raged ever since, despite the withdrawal of the Ethiopians in January. Ethiopian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Additional reporting by Abdi Guled in Mogadishu; Writing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Alison Williams)