Information specific to allegations of killings of Hilowle in Mogadishu since August 1996 by forces of Hussein Aideed in retaliation for the murder of his father, Mohammed Farah Aideed, and on the protection available to the Hilowle could not be found among the sources available to the Research Directorate. However, according to Africa Confidential of 28 March 1997, Osman Ali Atto belongs to the Rer Hilowle/Saad/Habr Gidir/Hawiye clan and Hussein Aydeed belongs to the Rer Jalaf/Saad/Habr Gidir/Hawiye clan. Osman Ali Atto was reportedly the late Mohamed Farah Aydeed's friend and financier but the two became enemies over a disagreement about the establishment of Sharia courts (ibid., July 1996). According to a 13 November 1996 Agence France Presse (AFP) report, supporters loyal to Aydeed open fire on the meeting of the elders killing one person and wounding three other people. A

13 December 1996 Africa Confidential report states Hussein Aydeed, Mohamed Farah Aydeed's successor, blamed Osman Atto for the death of his father and that fighting between militias loyal to Hussein Aydeed and Osman Atto had culminated in "dozens of deaths. Efforts by Habr Gidir elders to resolve this conflict were reportedly unsuccessful and fighting continued in south Mogadishu (ibid.).

According to 25 October 1997 article published in The Indian Ocean Newsletter, representatives of the Saad sub-clan of the Habr Gidir [Gedr] clan, "to which Aideed and his rival Osman Hassan Ali (aka Atto) belong, met in Mogadiscio on October 17 to discuss a peace agreement between their groups." For additional information on the conflict between Aydeed and Atto, please consult the numerous Responses to Information Requests on this subject, which are available at Regional Documentation Centres, and the attached documents.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Africa Confidential [London]. 28 March 1997. "Somalia: No Peace, No War."

_____. 13 December 1996. "Somalia: Hope Springs."

Agence France Presse. 13 November 1996. "One Killed, Three Wounded as Gunmen Attack Clan Elders Meeting." (NEXIS)

_____. 5 July 1996. "Somalia: Talking Sharia."