Ethiopian invasion of Somalia to be announced next Friday

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopia May Join Alliance Against Somalia's Al-Shabab

Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa

 

Reuters

A Kenyan soldier stands guard an airstrip in an area near the Somali-Kenyan border where al-Shabab militants are active (file photo).

An alliance of mostly East African nations is preparing a coordinated military campaign in Somalia to finish off the embattled al-Shabab extremist group. The al-Qaida-inspired extremists were driven out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu by African Union troops in August, and have recently lost ground to advancing Kenyan forces in the south. The plan includes possibly sending Ethiopian troops back to Somalia.

 

The ongoing Kenyan operation in southern Somalia, and al-Shabab's recent collapse in Mogadishu, are raising hopes that the militants' stranglehold on Somalia can be broken.

 

Toward that end, heads of state from the six-nation Horn of Africa regional bloc known as IGAD will meet next Friday to discuss a military strategy aimed at greatly expanding the control of Somalia's weak Transitional Federal Government.

 

Planners say the Addis Ababa summit will encourage all IGAD countries, including Ethiopia, to contribute to the effort.

 

Ethiopian officials say no formal decision has been made on joining the list of troop contributing countries. But foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti says Addis Ababa will help the campaign in any way possible.

 

"You can simply guess Ethiopia is going to be part and parcel of this process," said Dina. "The decision is not made as to sending the army, but per the IGAD council's resolutions of the past months, all IGAD member countries, the African Union and others also will be summoned, will be called, will be expected to somehow contribute something to strengthening the operations in Somalia."

 

Dina said a decision on Ethiopia's role in the offensive would probably be announced at next Friday's summit.

 

Ethiopian troops are regarded unfavorably by many Somalis, who remember them for brutality during a previous incursion from 2006 to 2009, made to support the Somali government. The troops were withdrawn after their presence became an al-Shabab recruiting tool.

 

Dina says conditions are different now. He says this time Ethiopia is part of a broad alliance of countries that recognize al-Shabab as a threat to regional stability.

 

"It's not only Ethiopia that's interested in crushing al-Shabab, it's in the interest of the IGAD countries, the African countries, even the international community to get rid of al-Shabab, which is actually quite a menace to the region," added Dina.

 

Besides controlling large portions of central Somalia, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for a bombing in Uganda's capital last year that killed 76 people. Kenya blames the group for a series of recent cross-border kidnappings of foreigners, an allegation al-Shabab has denied.

 

Two senior United Nations peacekeeping officials were at African Union headquarters this week for a briefing on the Somalia strategy, which includes asking for U.N. authorization to double the size of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to 20,000 troops. Diplomats say the plan calls for Kenyan troops to be brought under the AMISOM command, but not Ethiopian troops.

 

AU Peace and Security Director El-Ghassim Wane says U.N. and wider international support is needed to capitalize on the gains made by AMISOM and the Kenyan offensive.

 

"We believe the Kenyan operation is further contributing to weakening al-Shabab and creating space for the political process to take hold and lead to the conclusion of the transition next August... It's a challenging task, and we are fully aware of it, and that's why we are calling for further and enhanced support from the United Nations and the larger international community," said Wane.

 

Uganda and Burundi currently contribute the bulk of the nearly 10,000 AMISOM troops, with tiny Djibouti adding a small contingent. Kenya is said to be ready to contribute several thousand, and AU officials say Sierra Leone is preparing a few battalions that could be ready to join the operation within months.

 

The United Nations, which funds a large portion of AMISOM, and several other countries are said to be ready to provide what are called "force enablers," such as helicopters and other equipment to support the mission.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

If history repeats itself again waxa la inugu qasbaya in aynu mar labaad madaxa soo duubano.

[Somalia]

Maxaa adiga uu soo duubanee? Wadan kale baan moodhiye in aad joogto, rabsho iney Somalia ka dhacdho is your dream because without it secession is out of the question.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Somalia;759914 wrote:

Maxaa adiga uu soo duubanee? Wadan kale baan moodhiye in aad joogto, rabsho iney Somalia ka dhacdho is your dream because without it secession is out of the question.

So according to you rabsho will stop with Ethiopian troops in Somalia no wonder you are a fan of Cabdilahi Yusuf

 

Madaxa waxa soo duubanaya wixi islaam ah oo inyaro oo damir leh oo ah dad jecel Somalidu inay Xoriyad ku noolaadan.

[Somalia]

No, I am against them, but don't give me the view that you are fighting them when they enter, it is none of your business. Even if they enter people shouldn't fight them because they wouldn't win. The US wants them to enter because there's sign of stability and if they enter people will join Al-Shabaab and it is back to square one.

 

The US and you don't want to change the status quo because a powerful Somalia is against your interests.

 

 

I am not only a fan, I am an admirer of Abdullahi Yusuf. Put it in your location, spread it, the man had a vision like no other.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

if they enter people will join Al-Shabaab and it is back to square one

That's true

[Dabrow]

May 6, 2008

NAIROBI — Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Ethiopian troops in Somalia of killing civilians and committing atrocities, including slitting people's throats, gouging out eyes and gang-raping women.

In a new report, the human rights group, which is based in London, detailed chilling witness accounts of indiscriminate killings in Somalia and called on the international community to stop the bloodshed.

 

Amnesty said testimony it received suggested that all parties to the conflict had committed war crimes. But it cited Ethiopian troops, in the country to back Somalia's UN-sponsored government, for some of the worst violations.

 

The shaky transitional government invited Ethiopian forces into the country to help it battle Islamic insurgents. Somalia has been torn apart by years of violence between the militias of rival clan warlords.

 

The rights group said it had scores of reports of killings by Ethiopian troops. In one case, "a young child's throat was slit by Ethiopian soldiers in front of the child's mother," the report says.

 

Amnesty said about 6,000 civilians had been reported killed and more than 600,000 had been forced to flee their homes in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, last year.

 

"The people of Somalia are being killed, raped, tortured. Looting is widespread and entire neighborhoods are being destroyed," Michelle Kagari, the Amnesty deputy director for Africa, said in a statement from Nairobi that accompanied the report.

The report quotes testimony from 75 witnesses as well as scores of workers from nongovernmental organizations. People are identified only by first name to protect them from retaliation.

In one testimony, Haboon, 56, said her neighbor's 17-year-old daughter had been raped by Ethiopian troops. The girl's brothers tried to defend their sister, but the soldiers beat them and gouged their eyes out with a bayonet, Haboon was quoted as telling Amnesty.

 

"The testimony we received strongly suggests that war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity have been committed by all parties to the conflict in Somalia and no one is being held accountable," Kagari said.

[Dabrow]

Above article is from the last time Ethiopia was inside Somalia, this time around we must all unite and crush them and make them pay for their crimes,

[Jacaylbaro]

Which one ,, Ethiopia or Kenya ?? or both ???

[Dabrow]

I'm oppose to all foreign invaders.

[Jacaylbaro]

Including AMISOM i guess ,, right ??

[Dabrow]

yes

[Jacaylbaro]

Cool

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopian troops cross into Somalia: witnesses

 

An Ethiopian soldiers leave the Somali capital Mogadishu in 2007. Several hundred Ethiopian troops have crossed into southern and central Somalia, local elders said, but Addis Ababa dismissed the reports as "absolutely not true".

 

Map of the Horn of Africa, showing Ethiopia and Somalia. Several hundred Ethiopian troops have crossed into southern and central Somalia, local elders said, but Addis Ababa dismissed the reports as "absolutely not true".

 

Ethiopian soldiers guard a checkpoint in the Somali capital Mogadishu in 2008. Several hundred Ethiopian troops have crossed into southern and central Somalia, local elders said, but Addis Ababa dismissed the reports as "absolutely not true".

AFP - Several hundred Ethiopian troops crossed on Saturday into southern and central Somalia, local elders said, but Addis Ababa dismissed the reports as "absolutely not true."

 

"There are several hundred Ethiopian troops here in lorries and some armoured vehicles too," said elder Abdi Ibrahim Warsame, speaking by telephone from Gurel town, in Somalia's central Galgudud region.

 

Ethiopian forces were also reported in the Hiran region at the town of Beletweyne, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) into Somalia, an area contested by Islamist Shebab rebels and pro-government militia.

 

"They are here, the Ethiopian soldiers in trucks have reached Beletweyne with many forces," said elder Ahmed Liban. "The Shebab in the area are pulling back, away from them."

 

But Ethiopia dismissed the reports outright.

 

"It is absolutely not true, there are absolutely no troops in Somalia," said Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti. "People are simply speculating."

 

Small numbers of Ethiopian forces have been reported operating in Somali border regions in the recent past, but witnesses said the scale of troop movements was this time far larger.

 

If confirmed, it would be Addis Ababa's first large scale incursion since it invaded Somalia in 2006 with US backing.

 

Ethiopia pulled out three years later after failing to restore order in its lawless neighbour, which has lacked a functioning government for two decades.

 

The Galgudud area is largely under the control of an anti-Shebab militia called Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, factions of which have close ties with Ethiopia.

 

Ethiopian soldiers were reported to be up to 50 kilometres (30 miles) inside Somalia in that area.

 

Hardline Shebab insurgents control much of southern Somalia, but are battling both the Western-backed government in Mogadishu and Kenyan troops in the far south, who crossed the border last month to attack rebel strongholds.

 

African Union officials and members of the regional peacekeeping body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), held talks this week on bolstering the 9,700-strong AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

 

But no decision for Ethiopia to join Ugandan and Burundian forces in the mission had been made, Dina said.

 

"There is an intention on the part of IGAD members to bolster peacekeeping forces, because as you know the regional countries are working on increasing the numbers of AMISOM," Dina said.

 

"As to Ethiopian (troops) there is nothing that has been decided."

 

The humanitarian crisis in central and southern Somalia sparked by years of conflict and extreme drought is the worst in the world, the United Nations said Friday, with nearly 250,000 people facing imminent starvation.

 

Although the UN downgraded three famine alerts Friday to emergency levels, three other famine zones remain, and aid agencies warn that conflict is hampering access to those in need.