http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article19008 <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article19008>
Ethiopian parliament okays military action vs Islamists Friday 1 December 2006 00:10. Printer-Friendly version <http://www.sudantribune.com/imprimable.php3?id_article=19008> Nov 30, 2006 (MOGADISHU) The Ethiopian parliament has authorized military action if attacked by the Islamic movement who have declared holy war on the country over its troop incursions. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told lawmakers the country had already suffered attacks on Ethiopian soil by insurgent groups working closely with bitter rival Eritrea and Islamic forces in Somalia. The move came a week after Meles asked parliament for its backing. The full scope of the authorization and Ethiopia's interpretation of what constitutes an attack were not immediately clear. The move follows an ambush Tuesday by Islamic fighters on an Ethiopian convoy close to a camp where the Ethiopians are training troops loyal to the weak transitional government, witnesses said Thursday. The Islamic fighters targeted the convoy with a remote-controlled bomb, blowing up one of the vehicles, 35 kilometers south west of Baidoa, the government's headquarters. Islamic militia told The AP around 20 Ethiopians were killed during the attack. The claim couldn't be independently verified. A Somali government official denied the attack took place and Ethiopian officials weren't immediately available for comment. Tensions are high in this Horn of Africa nation where the Islamic movement and the Ethiopian-backed transitional government are vying for control. Analysts fear a war could engulf the region. Late Wednesday the U.N. Security Council condemned the "significant increase" in the flow of weapons to and through Somalia in violation of a 1992 arms embargo. The top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, warned the same day that al-Qaida militants are operating with "great comfort" in Somalia, providing training and assistance to a radical military element loyal to the Islamic group. The U.S. is consulting council members on another resolution that would lift the arms embargo for a regional force to help promote dialogue between the transitional government and the Islamic group that has expanded its control across much of southern Somalia. However the Islamic movement is fiercely opposed to foreign intervention. There have been heightened tensions in Somalia and fears that an all-out war could engulf the region. Ethiopia backs the transitional government, whose authority has been severely challenged by an Islamic movement that has taken over the capital and much of southern Somalia since June. On Tuesday a top Islamic leader accused Ethiopia of shelling a town in central Somalia. On Nov. 19, witnesses said Islamic fighters ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy, killing six Ethiopian soldiers and wounding 20 others. A confidential U.N. report obtained last month by the AP said 6,000-8,000 Ethiopian troops are in or near Somalia's border with Ethiopia, backing the interim government. Ethiopia says it just has a few hundred military trainers in the country. The report also said 2,000 troops from Eritrea are inside Somalia supporting the Islamic movement. Somalia hasn't had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another. The interim government was formed with the help of the U.N. two years ago, but exerts little control. (AP) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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