Interim Government Attempts Move Against Islamic Militia
Reuters
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Both sides confirmed the takeover of Buurhakaba, about 20 miles from Baidoa, the only town of any size that the government controls. Residents said that the government forces stayed only a short time and that fighters allied with the Islamic militia resumed control of the town at midday.
"Starting from today, we have declared jihad against Ethiopia," Islamic figure Sharif Ahmed told a news conference, wearing combat fatigues and clutching an AK-47 assault rifle. Ahmed appeared angry as he addressed reporters.
"Heavily armed Ethiopian troops have invaded Somalia. They have captured Buurhakaba. History shows that Somalis always win when they are attacked from outside," he said.
A government militia commander in Buurhakaba denied that Ethiopian troops had taken part. Ethiopia, long Somalia's chief rival in the Horn of Africa, has consistently said it has sent no regular soldiers, only military advisers.
Solomon Abebe, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs Ministry, dismissed the comments as the Islamic militia's "usual propaganda aimed at deceiving the international community."
"Ethiopia wishes to live in peace and good neighborly relations with a united and peaceful Somali republic," he said. "It has no other ulterior motives."
Somali government officials were not available for comment.
The Islamic movement often accuses the interim government of being a puppet of Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa's top military power and Somalia's foe in a war in the late 1970s. Witnesses say Ethiopian troops have crossed the border to support the government in recent weeks.
Western governments fear that any incursion by Ethiopia, which many Somalis view as a Christian imperialist power, could give foreign Islamic fighters a reason to flood Somalia as the newest battleground of Islam against the West.
Source: Reuters, Oct. 10, 2006