Somali Rebels Spurn Cease-Fire, Ready ‘Final Offensive’

NAIROBI, Kenya — Rebels in Somalia said Thursday they have massed reinforcements in the embattled capital and are preparing a “final offensive” against President Mohamed Siad Barre.

Earlier in the day, the rebels of the United Somali Congress rejected Siad Barre’s call for a cease-fire and dashed the hopes of Italy, the United States and other Western nations for a quick evacuation of their citizens.

In a communique issued in Rome, the insurgent group said 10,000 more rebel soldiers have arrived in the capital, Mogadishu, to join in a battle against Siad Barre’s loyalists that already has taken hundreds of lives in the Horn of Africa nation of 8 million.

“The capture of Siad Barre is only a matter of time,” the statement said.

Siad Barre, accused by the rebels of running a “cruel, corrupt” government for the last 21 years, was believed holed up in a bunker at the airport south of Mogadishu.

Telecommunications with Somalia have been cut for three days, and there was no way to confirm the rebel claim of heavy reinforcements. Some Western analysts had estimated their earlier strength in the capital at about 2,000.