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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sun Aug 29 2010 - 13:51:29 EDT
Ethiopia troops in Somalia to battle radicals
By Abdulkadir Khalif Nation Correspondent
Posted Sunday, August 29 2010 at 18:06
A large number of Ethiopian troops in military vehicles on Sunday reached
Somali villages after crossing its borders with Hiran region in Central
Somalia.
The Ethiopians, according to residents in the Beledweyne town, 335
kilometres north of Mogadishu, seem more serious than before to tackle the
authority of Al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist group opposing the
Transitional Federal Government, in Hiran region.
Crossed the border
Residents along the border area contacted by The Nation confirmed that the
Ethiopian troops crossed the border between Somalia twice in five days.
"In both cases, the Ethiopians were accompanied by highly trained Somali
soldiers that are loyal to the TFG," said Mr Aden Abdi Yusuf, a businessman
in Beledweyne.
The Ethiopian troop's movements come at a time Al-Shabaab militants
occasionally venture close to the border with Ethiopia.
According to Hussein Abdallah, a loyalist of Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamea, a
moderate Islamist group allied with the Somali government, the movements may
be a preliminary action to signal Al-Shabaab authorities that the Ethiopians
are capable of weakening the strength of the radical Islamists.
This will be done should they continue pressing hard on the TFG and the
peacekeepers serving the African Union Mission in Somalia, Amisom, in
Mogadishu.
Early this month, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi said that he would
deploy forces should Amisom peacekeepers guarding vital installations in
Mogadishu find themselves in great danger and request assistance.
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