Ethiopian troops off to Somalia
24/11/2006 11:10 - (SA)
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Mogadishu - Hundreds of Ethiopian troops reinforced Somalia's transitional
government on Friday, hours after Ethiopia's prime minister said his country
was ready for war with an Islamic movement that had become the most powerful
force in Somalia. Residents of Baidoa, the government's headquarters, said
138 trucks carrying Ethiopian troops arrived early on Friday Nunay Selah
said: "They parked their trucks around the town. They are digging trenches."
Ethiopia had acknowledged sending military advisers to Somalia, but had
repeatedly denied sending a fighting force. The executive leader of the
Council of Islamic Courts, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, repeated his call for a
holy war against Ethiopian troops inside Somalia and called the
internationally-backed government illegitimate because of its alliance with
Ethiopia. Ethiopia 'ready for war' He said: "A government is established so
as to defend its people and religion, but a government harbouring the country's
enemy can not be a government. "I appeal to those who still have moral
authority to join the jihad against the enemy of Somalia." Earlier, Ethiopian
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his country had completed its preparations for
a potential attack by the Islamic courts. In a speech to parliament, Meles
said his first priority was to avoid conflict with the Islamic militia, but "we
can't simply close our eyes or look the other way". He said: The government
"has completed this preparation." But, Ahmed interpreted Meles' comments as a
sign that Ethiopia was about to attack Islamic forces and he blamed the United
States. 18 US troops killed Ahmed said: "This declaration of war by Meles
Zenawi against Somalia is something that shows that they also have the consent
of the US." Just hours earlier, more moderate members of the Islamic movement
invited US government leaders to visit the capital, Mogadishu, a city that had
weighed on the minds of Americans since 18
US troops were killed here in 1993. Ibrahim Hassan Adow, the Islamic
movement's foreign affairs chief, said the US - which accused the Council of
Islamic Courts of having ties to al-Qaeda - should see for itself that the city
was under control. He said: "We invite US government officials to come to
Mogadishu and to see the realities on the ground." The group's strict
interpretation of Islam raised memories of Afghanistan's Taliban, which was
ousted by a US-led campaign for harbouring Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda
fighters. Still, many credited the courts with bringing order. This week, the
group arrested more than 100 people for watching a movie and burned sacks of
marijuana and a narcotic herb called qat, saying they violated Islam. Somalia
had not had an effective government since 1991, after warlords overthrew a
dictator and later turned on each other.
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