http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3832136/Ethiopia-troops-pull-Somalia-towns.html
Ethiopia troops pull out of Somalia towns
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 08:52 GMT, 11 October 2016
Hundreds of Ethiopian troops pulled out of a town in central Somalia Tuesday, at least the second location vacated by their forces in recent weeks, a Somali security official said.
Security official Abdirisak Moalim Ahmed said Ethiopian soldiers present in El-Ali, Hiran region, as part of an African Union mission withdrew on Tuesday morning after artillery fire targeted their base overnight.
Nearby Shabaab militants then reoccupied the town, which lies about 70 kilometres (43 miles) from the provincial capital Beledweyne.
"The Ethiopian troops pulled out of El-Ali town early this morning," said Ahmed, adding the reason for the withdrawal was unclear.
"They have headed for Beledweyne and the town is already taken by Shabaab militants," he said.
The troop movement comes just days after Ethiopia's embattled government declared a state of emergency in a bid to bring an unprecedented wave of protests under control.
El-Ali is at least the second town Ethiopian troops have vacated in recent weeks, after abandoning nearby Moqokori. No explanation has been given by the Ethiopian military while the spokesman for the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) did not respond to requests for comment.
"They continue creating vacuums and giving chances to the militants retake liberated towns," said Ahmed.
The Al-Qaeda aligned Shabaab militants announced the takeover of El-Ali in a message distributed via the group's Telegram account.
A resident said some townsfolk as well as Somali security forces had also abandoned the town.
"Most of the traders have fled the town after the Ethiopian troops pulled out this morning, we can see many people including the Somali security forces who have reached Beledweyne," said Osman Adan.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37616973
Ethiopia withdraws from Somalia el-Ali in Hiran region
Ethiopian troops fighting militant Islamist group al-Shabab have withdrawn from a key military base in central Somalia's Hiran region, residents say.
Al-Shabab fighters have taken control of el-Ali village following the withdrawal, the residents added.
Ethiopian forces had destroyed the base before abandoning the area, a radio station run by al-Shabab said.
The troops withdrew after the base came under artillery fire, a Somali security official said.
Ethiopian has not commented on the withdrawal.
In recent weeks it had also withdrawn its forces from the nearby town of Moqokori, AFP news agency reports.
In June, al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, said it had killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on a base in Halgan town, also in central Somalia.
The withdrawal from el-Ali has made a large and strategic area vulnerable to occupation by the militants, reports the BBC's Ibrahim Aden from the capital, Mogadishu.
Some Ethiopian soldiers are in Somalia as part of a 22,000-strong African Union (AU) force while others are there as a result of a bilateral deal with the weak Somali government.
The Ethiopian soldiers in the AU mission are responsible for securing Bay, Bakool, and Gedo regions but are also present in Hiran, which borders Ethiopia.
Somali security official Abdirisak Moalim Ahmed confirmed to AFP news agency that al-Shabab had occupied el-Ali, and the Ethiopian troops had headed for the regional capital, Beledweyne, about 70km (43 miles) away.
Most traders had fled the village following its seizure by al-Shabab, resident Osman Adan told AFP.
Ethiopia has a long and porous border with Somalia, and has been anxious to stop the infiltration of Islamist militancy into its territory.
Earlier this week, a state of emergency was declared in Ethiopia itself to quell the worst unrest in the country since the government took power in 1991.
Opposition groups in Ethiopia are demanding more political and economic rights, accusing the government of being repressive.
The government has blamed the unrest on "terrorists", accusing them of trying to break up the East African state of more than 86 million people.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently visiting Ethiopia, where she called on the government to allow protests, Reuters news agency reports.
Received on Tue Oct 11 2016 - 05:21:52 EDT