You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Africa Horn
Ethiopians advance in Somali
2006-07-21
Ethiopian troops were moving closer to the Somali capital Mogadishu amid fears of all-out war in the volatile Horn of Africa nation where Islamists have risen to power, witnesses told Reuters. Ethiopian soldiers were moving beyond the provincial seat of the interim Somali government in Baidoa to the towns of Buur Hakaba and Baledogle, various local residents said.

Addis Ababa denies it has soldiers there, while the Somali government, which has little authority beyond Baidoa, said people were confusing its militia because they were wearing uniforms donated from Ethiopia.
And carrying guns donated from Ethiopia ...
Nominally Christian-led Ethiopia, the main power in the Horn of Africa, correctly views the Islamists as "terrorists" and supports Somalia's interim government. It has not hesitated to send troops in to attack radical Islamic militia in the past.

Some 2,500 Ethiopian soldiers remained camped in Baidoa, protecting government installations like parliament, the presidential palace and the town's airport, the witnesses said. "A few are walking on the streets. Although the town is calm, people fear the presence of Ethiopian troops might trigger a war here," said Ali Hassan, a Baidoa resident.

Another resident said Ethiopians had stationed their heavy equipment and military arsenal near an airport at Eldon town, 18km north of Baidoa.

Somalia's deputy information minister Salad Ali Jelle rubbished reports of an Ethiopian incursion, saying government forces had mobilised because of recent Islamist advances and were being mistaken because they were wearing donated uniforms. "People are confusing the government troops wearing military uniforms donated by Ethiopia," he told Reuters. "There are around 3,000 patrolling Baidoa, and its vicinity, as well as guarding government buildings like the parliament... There are no Ethiopians whatsoever in Baidoa."
"What about all the hard boyz speaking Ethiopian on the street?"
"They're .. bilingual Somalis."
In the Islamists' stronghold of Mogadishu, which they took from US-backed warlords in June, demonstrators were set to protest against the incursion by Ethiopian troops and express support for their new Muslim rulers. The Mogadishu demonstration, organised by civil society groups and businessmen whose money has underpinned the Islamist rise, was to start after Friday prayers, organisers said.
So the new rulers know how to throw a demonstration complete with eye-rolling and face-making ...
The rise of the Islamists has threatened the authority of the transitional administration of President Abdullahi Yusuf, formed in 2004 to steer the nation from anarchy to peace. Western nations back Yusuf's government in principle, but recognise it has little political or military power.
UPDATE: On Thursday morning, about 100 Ethiopian armored cars, trucks carrying soldiers, and armed pick-ups drove into Baidoa. Some of the troops moved on to station themselves in the strategic region of Gedo. Agence-France Presse reported that the Ethiopian troops received a triumphant welcome in the town, which had feared an imminent invasion by the Islamists. It is estimated that Ethiopia deployed a limited contingent of 5,500 soldiers to help protect the interim government.
Posted by:tipper

00:00