Ethiopian officer found wounded

2006-10-24 14:40

Kismayo - Somalia's Islamic radicals claimed on Tuesday that they had captured an Ethiopian officer after heavy fighting against pro-government militia in which 43 were killed.

Islamic movement spokesperson Sheik Shukri Abraham said the wounded soldier was seized after 26 hours of fighting between Islamic fighters and militia loyal to Somalia's defence minister.

Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ethiopia and Somalia's governments had initially denied the presence of Ethiopian troops in the country, but Ethiopia's prime minister recently acknowledged he had sent troops. He said there were only a few military trainers.

Tensions between Ethiopia, which backed Somalia's weak government, and the Islamic radical group that controlled much of southern Somalia had been mounting in recent months.

Islamic militia captures Shire

So far, they had avoided any direct clashes, though the rhetoric on both sides had been fiery, raising fears of a conflict that could engulf the entire Horn of Africa region.

The fighting between the rival militias, which broke out late on Sunday and ended late on Monday, took place in the Islamic base of Bu'aale, 170km south of the government base of Baidoa and where Ethiopian trainers were believed to be based.

Abraham said the town briefly fell to forces loyal to defence minister colonel Barre "Hirale" Aden Shire during the fighting, but was recaptured by Islamic militia.

He said 43 pro-government fighters were killed while three Islamic militia also died.

According to Abraham: "We have defeated the militia after 26 hours of fighting." The Islamic forces also captured six pickup trucks mounted with machine guns and known locally as "technicals".

Shire officials not available

He said: "We have captured an Ethiopian officer and he is now being held under guard in one of our compounds." Abraham added that the Ethiopian soldier would be shown to the media in the coming days.

Officials for Shire were not immediately available for comment.

Somali government officials said about 6 000 Ethiopian troops were in the country or encamped on the 1 600km border.

The issue was sensitive because Ethiopia and Somalia were traditional rivals. Ethiopia, with almost half of its 77 million population Muslim, feared fundamentalism in its neighbour.

Somalia had not had an effective national government since 1991, after warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and later turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.

President Abdullahi Yusuf's government was formed in 2004 with the United Nations help in hopes of restoring order after years of bloodshed.

- AP