by Dina Ezzat, Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt - The humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia is hard to exaggerate. This week international aid organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, warned of huge suffering among civilians in the Somali capital Mogadishu as a result of the heavy fighting that erupted four months ago among warring Somali factions and Ethiopian forces stationed in Somalia to prop up the government. Hundreds have been killed or wounded. Thousands are reported to have fled on foot, donkey-cart or trucks.