UN: Atrocities in Somalia force 100,000 to flee

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalis are experiencing near-daily atrocities, including rape, the shelling of civilian areas and fighting that has forced more than 100,000 to flee their homes since May, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday.
Since last month, a major offensive by insurgents against Somalia's Western-backed government has killed about 200 people. The insurgents hope to topple the government and install a strict Islamic state.
"It's a critical humanitarian situation, with regular atrocities being committed," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler told reporters in Geneva. "We are particularly concerned about how the fighting is affecting a population that has already endured several decades of war."
Fighting that has pitted Islamist insurgents against the government and its allies has killed thousands of civilians and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives in recent years. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, and the U.S. worries that Somalia could be a terrorist breeding ground.
Observers say the Somali insurgents have been boosted recently by up to 400 foreign jihad fighters who are believed to have come from as far away as Afghanistan. Experts have expressed fears that the foreign Islamic militants could use Somalia as a base for terror.
Also Tuesday, 14 local journalists said they were suspending work because of security concerns. The announcement came two days after masked gunmen killed the director of Radio Shabelle, one of Somalia's largest broadcasters, raising to five the number of journalists killed in Somalia this year...more..http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia