From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Oct 27 2008 - 07:08:06 EST
Somalia: Intense fighting erupts as forces ambush Ethiopia, Somali gov’t troops
By Bonny Apunyu.
Mon. October 27, 2008 02:27 am.
(SomaliNet) Intense battle erupted on Saturday morning in Somalia in an area between Lego and Yaqbariweyne in the Bay region (south) when Al-Shabaab forces ambushed Ethiopian and Somali government troops heading to the capital, Mogadishu, residents said.
Sheikh Muqtar Robow Abu Mansorsaid, Al-Shabaab spokesman told reporters in a teleconference that their troops were responsible for the attack, claiming that they chased away the country’s troops and their Ethiopian allies.
"This morning Allah’s forces waged an ambush attack against Allah’s enemy," Abu Mansor said.
"One of our solders died and four others were wounded but we chased them and forced them to retreat," he added.
Heavy weapons and machine guns could be heard in the surroundings, according to residents.
"Early in the morning we heard sounds of heavy weapons and we thought of a battle between Ethiopian and Islamist forces" Anab Mumin, resident in Lego told APA by phone.
Abdirihim Hussein another resident near Yaqbariweyne told APA "I was near the battle area and I narrowly escaped. I thought I would die."
South and central Somali regions have been the hardest-hit with insurgents’ attacks, including roadside bombing and guerrilla war against the government forces and their Ethiopian allies.
Somalia is plunged into anarchy since the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, when warlords used their clan based militias to remove him.
Thereafter , they started to fight one another as they could not agree on leadership.
As a result, many Somalians have died and others are displaced in their own country.-APA
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