Ethiopia accused of attacks
2006-11-28 18:47
Mogadishu - A top Islamic leader accused Ethiopia on Tuesday of attacking a town in central Somalia.
"As I'm speaking to you, Ethiopians have shelled 12 missiles at Bandiradley," Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, head of the executive council of Islamic Courts, told a rally in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, that drew tens of thousands of people to protest against Ethiopian troops' presence in the country and US policy toward Somalia.
The claim could not be immediately verified.
"We will give the details later on," Ahmed told the crowd. "I have just received the news."
The claim is likely to further stoke tensions between the Islamic movement and the Ethiopian-backed transitional government. Analysts fear a war is imminent.
Bandiradley is about 500km north of Mogadishu, which the Islamic movement seized from warlords in June. The Islamic group now control much of southern Somalia.
- SAPA