Ethiopian troops advance into Somalia

[Liibaan]

Ethiopian troops advance into Somalia

Abraham Fisseha

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sapa-AFP

 

ADDIS ABABA — Fear of war rose at the weekend after Ethiopia vowed to “crush†Somalia’s powerful Union of Islamic Courts, which has threatened a “holy war†against Addis Ababa.

 

 

Hundreds of Ethiopian troops moved into a second Somali town at the weekend, ostensibly to protect the country’s weak government, which is backed by the US and the United Nations (UN). Reports said that the troops were on their way to the capital, Mogadishu, where Islamic Courts fighters are in control.

 

 

Arab League-sponsored talks aimed at easing tension fell apart at the weekend. The government negotiators failed to show up and Islamic Courts militia objected to Ethiopia’s intervention. Both sides signed a temporary cease-fire agreement on June 22 in which the Islamic Courts formally recognised the government, something they had previously said they would not do.

 

The transitional government at the weekend demanded an internationally backed undertaking from the Islamic grouping that it would honour future accords before talks started in earnest.

 

 

Ethiopian and Somali government officials have denied Ethiopian troops are in the country. But about 200 Ethiopian troops — accompanied by at least five pickup trucks with mounted machine guns, other vehicles and a helicopter — were seen in Wajid, about 75km southeast of the Somali-Ethiopian border.

 

Residents and UN staff said there were Ethiopian soldiers in Wajid and Baidoa, where the fragile transitional government is based. The soldiers took control of the town’s airport from a militia serving the local administration, they said.

 

 

Rumours of an Ethiopian troop presence in Somali began last month. Last week witnesses said a 400-strong, well-armed force had entered Baidoa, 240km northwest of Mogadishu, ahead of an advancing force of militia.

 

The Islamic militia pulled back as the Ethiopian troops moved in and denied that there was any bid to take over Baidoa.

 

 

Somali government leaders may be reluctant to acknowledge that Ethiopian troops have come to their aid because they do not want to appear to be beholden to the country’s traditional adversary.

 

Anti-Ethiopian sentiment still runs high in this mostly Muslim country.

 

Ethiopia’s move could give the Somali government its only chance of curbing the Islamic militia’s increasing power.

 

If a full-scale battle starts, Ethiopia has a superior fighting force. It sent troops to Somalia in 1993 and 1996 to crush bids by Islamic militants to set up a government based on sharia law.

 

Diplomats said indications pointed to full-scale fighting unless diplomatic efforts were moved up a gear in the next few days.

 

 

The US last week urged Ethiopia to exercise restraint and said the European Union, the US, the African Union, the Arab League and others in an international contact group on Somalia would meet soon to consider the volatile situation.

 

Somalia has been without a central government since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving much of the country into armed camps.

 

Meanwhile, a senior Somali government official called for the disarmament of the Islamists, saying they posed a threat to the government that has been unable to exert its authority since returning from exile in Kenya last year.

 

“The Islamic Courts present a threat to the transitional federal government if they are not disarmed,†said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

“Islamic Courts are part of this community. They have no right to keep weapons,†the official said .

 

The leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia last week vowed to wage a holy war against Ethiopia — a call some observers said was populist rhetoric.

 

“They have to tailor some kind of mechanism to keep the momentum of the people’s support,†said Abebe Tadesse, a Horn of Africa watcher.

 

 

However, in Mogadi-shu, residents rallied in support of Supreme Islamic Council leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys in denouncing Ethiopia’s move, with some calling it a deliberate act of provocation.

 

“The incursion by Ethiopia is a deliberate act to provoke Somalia and to further destabilise it,†said Mahamoud Abdullahi, a former police officer.

 

“It is a move contrary to international law. The Ethiopian troops are killing their people inside Addis Ababa and there is no way they will bring peace to Somalia.â€