Islamists vow to fight Ethiopia

2006-09-26 22:22

Mogadishu - Somalia's Islamists said on Tuesday they are readying troops and recruiting young men to defend themselves against suspected Ethiopian soldiers in the country.

While witnesses have reported seeing the soldiers near the provincial capital Baidoa, Ethiopia, which supports the country's fragile interim government, has denied sending troops.

"We are preparing 2 000 fighters to go to Baidoa to defend the country from the Ethiopians," said Moalim Hashi Mohamed Farah, a top security official with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC).

He did not say when this might happen.

The Islamists took the strategic port town of Kismayo during the weekend and now controls a significant part of the country.

"I have no doubt that the Islamic courts will fight against Ethiopia," added Farah.

Youth urged to defend country

"If the soldiers don't go back we will go to Addis Ababa."

The Islamists opened a recruiting office in the capital Mogadishu and are encouraging young Somalis to join the voluntary military.

"We urge the youth to defend the country," said UIC leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

During the 1990s Ethiopia on several occasions sent troops into its neighbour to prevent the establishment of an Islamic government there.

Somalia has been without strong central rule for 15 years.

Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has appealed for protection from the international community.

Credited with bringing order

Without it, he said Somalia would become a "terrorist safe haven".

Earlier this month, the African Union granted a request by the transitional government to send in a regional peacekeeping force, which the Islamists have opposed.

Islamists seized the capital Mogadishu earlier this year and have since taken other parts of the country, with the intention of establishing an Islamic state.

They have been credited with bringing some order to the anarchic state.

- SAPA