During their search for insurgent troops, soldiers of the Somali interim government and Ethiopian troops searched the SOS Children's Village facilities. They entered the grounds after peaceful talks with the village staff. The SOS Clinic was also searched.
After the evacuation of the children, mothers and village staff last weekend, only a few staff members stayed behind in order to watch over the buildings. The part of town in which the village is located has been almost entirely abandoned for days. Approximately 340,000 inhabitants have fled the Somali capital due to the heavy fighting.
According to Ahmed Ibrahim, director of the SOS Children's Villages projects in Somalia, the soldiers have pulled back after the search and have installed a provisional base directly beside the village grounds. Ahmed Ibrahim says that the situation remains precarious and it is still not certain, if and when the allied troops will move on or resume their offensive.
Ahmed Ibrahim says that if the soldiers were to pull out, the SOS medical staff would attempt to get the clinic back in operation. The hospital has not been able to operate normally during the past weeks due to increasing insecurity.
Thirteen missiles have hit SOS grounds during the past six days, and one of these hit a wing of the clinic where wounded victims were being treated. The wounded were taken away by relatives and friends yesterday, as the government troops are advancing and the Islamic troops are pulling back.
Ahmed Ibrahim hopes that the situation will relax considerably during the next few days and the SOS Children's Villages projects will be up and running normally again in the foreseeable future.
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