Somalis say no to Ethiopian aid

2006-08-14 15:20

Mogadishu - Thousands of supporters of an Islamic militia controlling key parts of Somalia took to the streets of a central township on Monday to protest the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect the fledgling government.

Witnesses said about 2 000 protestors gathered in Dhusomareeb, the hometown of the radical cleric Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who led the Islamists, and vowed to resist any provocation by the Ethiopian troops.

Ali Weheliye in Dhusomareeb, about 350km north of Mogadishu, said: "Ethiopian troops are planning to kill Somalis and destroy our property. We are fighting a holy and a national war against the historic enemy of Somalia."

Sheikh Muhamoud Hussein Jumale, a representative of the Islamists in Galgudud region, added: "Waiting for the enemies until they reach our doorsteps is unholy. The Ethiopian troops want to fight inside Somalia and kill you and ruin all your livelihoods."

Islamists control much of southern Somalia

Last month, Addis Ababa deployed troops and military trucks in the Somali government base in Baidoa, about 250km northwest of the capital.

The Islamists now controlled much of southern Somalia, including the capital, Mogadishu, and were rapidly expanding northwards.

However, they denied accusations of plotting to oust the weak 18-month-old transitional government of Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, which had been plagued by infighting and unable to assert control over much of the Horn of Africa nation.

Last week, Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed dissolved the cabinet after mass resignations that were triggered by the deployment of the Ethiopian troops.

The deployment had stalled Arab League-mediated peace talks in Khartoum between the government and the Islamists aimed at restoring a functional authority in the lawless nation.

Islamists to launch talks with govt

Monday's demonstration came less than a week after the Islamists seized the strategic town of Beledweyne, near the Ethiopian border.

On Sunday, they took control of Haradere, a central township near the coastline that had been a base of piracy and dozens of hijackings of ships in the Indian Ocean.

The new seizures apparently defied directives from the United Nations and western powers calling on the Islamists to halt their expansion and launch peace talks with the government.

The largely secular Ethiopia, which had a sizeable Muslim population, feared that the growing influence of Somali Muslims might ignite the volatile Ogaden region inhabited by Ethiopians of Somalia ethnicity, who had been fighting for independence.

Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesperson Solomon Abebe said: "Any move that would be detrimental to the national interest of the country will never be tolerated."

The UN and other western powers had urged restless Somali neighbours - notably arch-foes Ethiopia and Eritrea - to refrain from meddling in Somali affairs, warning of the risk of plunging the whole region into anarchy.

- AFP