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| Africa Horn |
| 2006-12-27 |
| Salad Duhul | Mogadishu, Somalia - 26 December 2006 07:34 -- Sapa-AP Islamic fighters retreated from the main front line in Somalia early on Tuesday after a week of artillery and mortar duels and attacks by government and Ethiopian troops, witnesses said. Troops loyal to the Council of Islamic Courts withdrew more than 50km to the south-east from Daynuney, a town just south of Baidoa, the government headquarters. The retreat follows the bombing by Ethiopian jets of the country's two main international airports. The Islamic forces also abandoned their main stronghold in Bur Haqaba and were forming convoys headed towards the capital, Mogadishu, residents in villages along the road told the media by telephone. "We woke up from our sleep this morning and the town was empty of troops, not a single Islamic fighter," Ibrahim Mohamed Aden, a resident of Bur Haqaba said. Another resident, who asked not to be named, said locals were looting the food stockpile left behind by the Islamic militia. Islamic fighters were also reportedly retreating on two other fronts in the war for control of Somalia. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced on Saturday that he had sent troops into Somalia to fight international terrorists, defend Ethiopian interests and prop up the besieged United Nations-backed government, which only has a very small military force. But Meles has said he does not intend to keep his forces in Somalia for long, perhaps only a few weeks. He has told visiting dignitaries in Addis Ababa that his goal is to severely damage the courts' military capabilities, take away their sense of invincibility and allow both sides to return to peace talks on even footing. The Islamic group, which wants to rule the country on principles of the Qur'an, has been a source of grave concern by largely Christian Ethiopia. Since June, the group has seized control of the capital and much of southern Somalia. No reliable casualty reports were immediately available. Both sides have claimed to have killed hundreds of their enemy, but independent observers were not given access to the battlefield. On Ethiopian television on Monday night, the defence ministry said troops would move south toward Jowhar, 90km from Mogadishu. Later on Monday night, Ethiopia made a major military push in that direction, capturing Bandiradley, Adadow and Galinsor, according Yusuf Ahmed Ali, a businessman in Adadow. The Arab League, which has mediated several rounds of talks between the Somali government and the Islamists, called for all parties involved to "immediately hold a comprehensive ceasefire." Many Somalis are enraged by the idea of Ethiopian involvement because the countries have fought two wars over their disputed border in the past 45 years. Islamic leaders have repeatedly said they want to incorporate ethnic Somalis living in eastern Ethiopia, north-eastern Kenya and Djibouti into a Greater Somalia. The Islamic group's often severe interpretation of Islam raises memories of Afghanistan's Taliban regime, which was ousted by a United States-led campaign for harbouring Osama bin Laden. The US government says four al-Qaeda leaders, believed to be behind the 1998 bombing of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, have become leaders in the Islamic militia. Experts fear the conflict in Somalia could engulf the already volatile Horn of Africa. A recent UN report said 10 countries have been supplying arms and equipment to both sides of the conflict and using Somalia as a proxy battlefield. The UN World Food Program airlifted several tons of food and other aid into Somalia on Monday, but had not yet been notified of any border closings, agency spokesperson Peter Smerdon said. Government officials and Islamic militiamen have said hundreds of people have been killed in clashes since last Tuesday, but the claims could not be independently confirmed. Aid groups put the death toll in the dozens. Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew long-time dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, plunging the country into chaos. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 :> I figure it's on the verge of moving into a humanitarian crisis largely ignored by the US. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2006-12-27 15:10 |
| #3 Shipman: It's purely coincidental that Ethiopia is operating in the interestes of the US. ;) |
| Posted by: anymouse 2006-12-27 13:12 |
| #2 BTW since the US backed warlords were whipped by the powerful Islamic Courts, where did the US interests move to? Is there any chance that it's the US backed Ethiopian forces kicking ass? Naw. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2006-12-27 06:25 |
| #1 locals were looting the food stockpile left behind by the Islamic militia. It's a feint. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2006-12-27 06:12 |