Ethiopian tanks 'in Somalia'
2006-12-22 19:37
Mogadishu - Somalia's Ethiopia-backed forces and Council of Islamic Court fighters clashed near the seat of government in Baidoa for a second day on Thursday, with Ethiopian tanks reportedly brought into battle and both sides claiming to inflict massive casualties.
As the courts called for war against Addis Ababa, witnesses saw Ethiopian tanks being deployed east and south of Baidoa, the seat of the country's weak government.
"I saw 10 Ethiopian tanks inside (Baidoa) town and they were heading to the Daynunay area," a flashpoint garrison town, said Baidoa resident Mohamed Sahal.
Another resident, Abdullahi Mohamed, had said earlier that he had seen an Ethiopian military helicopter land in Baidoa to collect wounded soldiers.
Addis Ababa has been intervening on behalf of the government against the Islamic Court forces, which control the capital Mogadishu and much of the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.
Earlier, Islamic Court chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys had rallied Somalis to join the war against Ethiopian forces, two days after a deadline the courts had given Ethiopian troops to pull out or face major attacks expired.
'Fighting is intensifying'
Thursday's flare-up came despite European Commission humanitarian chief Louis Michel saying on Wednesday that he had secured both sides' commitment to observe a truce and resume peace talks.
Commanders said rival forces were reinforcing Daynunay and a second outpost of Idale, 60km south of Baidoa.
"The fighting in Idale area is intensifying ... There are a lot of reinforcements from both sides," government commander Ibrahim Batari told AFP.
"There are a lot bodies littered on the battle ground ... No one can confirm the casualties at the moment because the fighting is very heavy."
Islamic Court commanders, meanwhile, have vowed to use all the weapons in their possession to tackle their rivals.
"I tell you that there are great losses in this fighting," said Islamic Court commander Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal.
Civilians flee fighting
"We are reinforcing our side and they are reinforcing theirs too. We are getting information that Ethiopians have brought a lot of tanks into Baidoa for reinforcement."
The government claimed to have killed "hundreds" of rival fighters in Wednesday's clashes, while the Islamic Court fighters said they had killed at least 70.
Both sides acknowledged heavy casualties, but there was no independent confirmation on the figures.
Meanwhile, hundreds of terrified civilians continue to flee the frontline.
"I have taken my family to Baidoa for safety, because we can hear heavy artillery shells in the area," said Adan Mursal, a resident of Daynunay.
"No one slept all night long because of the fierce fighting."
The United Nations Office of the Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Affairs for Somalia warned that further fighting would cut off the supply of aid for nearly a million people affected by recent flooding in the area.
- AFP