From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat Jun 06 2009 - 16:01:26 EDT
Somalia-Ethiopia troops 'move' towards Bakool region
6 Jun 6, 2009 - 12:06:11 PM
HUDDUR, Somalia June 6 (Garowe Online) - Hundreds of Somali and
Ethiopian troops have moved towards Bay and Bakool regions in
southwestern Somalia, Radio Garowe reports Saturday.
The troops were spotted driving southward from Fer Fer, an army base in
Ethiopia near the border of Hiran region, in central Somalia.
Military sources said the Somali-Ethiopian force is expected to
establish base at El Barde district in Bakool region, adjacent to the
Ethiopian border.
Mr. Abdifatah Mohamed "Gesey," former governor of Bay region, told
reporters on Thursday that the people of Bay and Bakool regions have
suffered under Al Shabaab control.
"This is the reason we have prepared soldiers to remove the black flag,
the black knife and the black head," said Gesey, who is reported to be
in Bakool region.
Somali government officials in Baidoa fled for safety last January after
Al Shabaab guerrillas took control of the town following the withdrawal
of Ethiopian troops after a two-year military intervention.
Separately, Somali Security Minister Omar Hashi, who is currently in the
Hiran provincial capital of Beletwein, told reporters that the Somali
government is determined to retake lost regions through peaceful means,
but warned: "If the opposition reject peace, then the government will
have to retake control by war."
The Ethiopian government has admitted to sending "reconnaissance
missions" into Somalia, but independent sources have confirmed the
presence of Ethiopian troops and armory in Hiran region.
Somali rebel groups Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam control many regions in
south and central Somalia, including the key towns of Baidoa, Merka and
Kismayo.
The government, led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, controls pockets
of the national capital Mogadishu where violence has killed hundreds of
people and displaced tens of thousands since early May.
Source: Garowe Online
http://www.garowe.com/
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