Liibaan Posted June 21, 2009 Ethiopia Denies Somalia’s Appeal for Military Support in Fight against Islamist Militants Atlanta, Ga. 6/21/2009 05:07 PM GMT TransWorldNews One day after Somalia made an appeal to its neighbors requesting military support to fend off a surge in violence launched by Islamist militants the Ethiopian government has said it will not provide troops to fight off the rebels. Ethiopia has said an international mandate would be needed before they were to send troops back into Somalia. In 2006 Ethiopian troops helped stem an Islamist movement in Somalia but those troops were withdrawn earlier this year. Since Ethiopia’s withdraw from Mogadishu the Islamist militants, headed by the rebel group al-Shabab, have made an aggressive push in the north of the capital. On Saturday Somalia called for its neighbors to provide military help yet many of their neighbors are of the belief that the international community, not just Somalia’s neighbors, should help stabilize the situation. For nearly two decades Somalia has been without an effective government for the country and while the UN has backed the transitional government they have done little to ensure its success. The African Union currently has 4,300 peacekeeping troops in Mogadishu but they are not allowed to pursue militants, making their job all the more difficult. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
