Somalia braces for war
2006-07-22 14:22
Mogadishu - Somalia's Islamists refused talks with the government on Saturday, as witnesses said Ethiopia deployed more troops over the border to defend the government's provincial base against an Islamist advance.
A second round of talks had been scheduled to take place in
the Sudanese capital Khartoum in a bid to stop an increasingly
belligerent standoff between the two sides from spiralling into
war.
"We do not negotiate with a government which is being helped
by the enemy of Somalia," senior Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif
Ahmed said in a letter to Islamist delegates to the talks.
Diplomats fear Somalia is on the verge of conflict after
Islamist militia moved their closest to the government's
provincial base in Baidoa this week amid daily reports of new
Ethiopian military movements in the country.
Holy war
The Islamist leadership, vowing holy war, has called on the
Horn of African nation of 10 million to prepare to fight against
the foreign troops, as Addis Ababa threatened to crush any
attack on President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.
Analysts believe Ethiopia, the Horn's dominant power, has
sent up to 5 000 troops into Somalia, and is massing more on the
border to deter Islamist advances.
A source close to Somali government leaders admitted the
presence of Ethiopian troops on Somali soil.
"They are there, but not in the big numbers people are
saying. But believe me, if the Islamists attack, they will
come," said the source, who did not wish to be named.
"Our national army is not set up yet, and they have many
militias, so we need assistance."
Ethiopian forces arrive
Several residents in Baidoa said more Ethiopian forces and
armoured vehicles arrived overnight to help guard the
parliament, presidential palace and airport.
"Ten more Ethiopian military vehicles arrived last night
with around 300 troops," said former militiaman and Baidoa
resident Abdirizak Adan.
"The Ethiopian troops have changed their uniforms and are
now wearing the same clothes as the Somali government soldiers."
Curfew
The government imposed a curfew on the hill town three days
ago, Adan said.
More than 50 pickup trucks mounted with heavy arms left
Mogadishu, the Islamist stronghold which they captured from
US-backed warlords last month, various residents said.
They said the Islamist militia were accompanied by Eritrean
and Ethiopian rebel forces and were heading towards Baidoa and
Buur Hakaba.
The reported movements could not be independently verified.
Traditionally Christian Ethiopia fears a hardline Muslim
state on its doorstep and possible Islamist aspirations to
create a "Greater Somalia" that would incorporate Ethiopia's
southeastern ethnically Somali Ogaden region.