Ethiopia seizes Somali town

2006-10-09 14:27

Baidoa - Ethiopian troops arrived in a strategic hilltop town in Somalia on Monday alongside government fighters, said residents and Islamic militia.

The move into Bur Haqaba followed deployment by Ethiopian troops in support of Somalia's weak, but internationally recognised government, which had been increasingly challenged by the hardline Islamic fighters.

Bur Haqaba was 60km east of Baidoa, the only town the government controlled.

Mohamed Ibrahim Bilial, whose militiamen were loyal to the Islamic forces, said: "Our militia has retreated from the town as the Ethiopians moved in. We will recapture the town."

Ethiopians deny involvement in Somalia

He said that three Ethiopian battalions totalling 750 men alongside government militia rode into the town on Monday morning without a shot being fired.

The town was perched along six hill tops, allowing forces there to control the only road from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, which the Islamic movement controlled, and Baidoa, 250km away. It was taken over by Islamic forces in late June.

Ethiopian officials had denied involvement in Somalia - though diplomats, journalists and Somalis had seen their troops in the country.

Ethiopians were seen patrolling Baidoa in 11 armoured vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns on Monday. The reports from Bur Haqaba on Monday prompted another denial.

Solomon Abebe, a spokesperson for Ethiopia's foreign affairs ministry, said: "Any accusations about Ethiopian troops inside Somalia is false."

Mohamed Abdi Hussein, the pro-government governor of Bur Haqaba who fled to Baidoa in June, said that no Ethiopian troops had been involved in the recapture of the pro-Islamist town. He urged locals to remain calm.

Bid to heighten tensions

Somali government officials accused the Islamic group of spreading the claim that Ethiopian forces were involved in a bid to heighten tensions.

The Islamic group opposed any outside intervention, and was particularly incensed at any role played by Ethiopia, Somalia's historic rival.

A taxi driver Salad Ali Mohamed, also a Bur Haqaba resident, said: "I saw government troops and a number of Ethiopian troops. Some militiamen loyal to the government joined them when they entered the town, but the remainder loyal to the Islamic courts left."

Tensions between the Islamic movement, which was expanding control over large parts of the war-ravaged country, and the weakened government were high.

Both sides had accused each other of violating a tentative peace agreement signed in Khartoum, Sudan, in September.

Somalia had not had an effective national government since 1991, after warlords overthrew dictator Mohammed Siad Barre and later turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.

The transitional government was formed in 2004 with the United Nations help in hopes of restoring order after years of lawlessness.

- AP