From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Jun 13 2009 - 16:16:52 EDT
Ethiopia denies its soldiers in central Somalia
Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:05am GMT
* Ethiopia denies troops in Somalia
* Says reports designed to mobilise support for insurgents
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA, June 13 (Reuters) - Ethiopia denied on Saturday it had sent
soldiers into Somalia, a day after residents reported seeing heavily armed
troops from the neighbouring Horn of Africa nation in at least two different
regions.
Ethiopia's head of government information, Bereket Simon, told reporters the
reports were being fabricated by Islamist rebels to try and muster popular
support for their battle to topple the government of President Sheikh Sharif
Ahmed.
"Ethiopia is defending its border. We have no intention of going back into
Somalia. When we decide to enter Somalia we will tell the world that we have
decided to enter based on our national interest," he said.
Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in late 2006 to oust an Islamist movement
from the capital in which Ahmed played a leading role. He fled into exile
but joined a peace process last year and was elected in January.
Addis Ababa has said it supports the new government, but is wary of the
hardline Islamists, who have links to al Qaeda, because they control large
areas of Somalia and have threatened to destabilise Ethiopia and Kenya.
"We think the reason (for the reports) is that the extremists are losing
ground and feel they can mobilise people by presenting Ethiopian
interventions to the public," he said.
"That is why they are building these accusations as a scarecrow to get
support."
RECONNAISSANCE MISSIONS
The Ethiopian troops were deeply unpopular during their two-year
intervention and helped rally support for the insurgency as it became a
nationalist campaign to oust the foreign invaders.
There were hopes Islamist President Ahmed would be able to reconcile the
warring factions by building an inclusive government and introducing sharia
law throughout the country.
But hardline Islamist group al Shabaab, which has ties to al Qaeda, and
allies in Hizbul Islam, led by Ahmed's former ally Sheikh Hassan Dahir
Aweys, have instead stepped up their fight.
They control most of southern Somalia, parts of the central region and a
number of suburbs in the capital Mogadishu.
African Union troops are protecting the presidential palace, the airport and
sea port in Mogadishu. But despite a government offensive last month, the
rebels are still anchored in the capital and neither side seems able to
deliver a knockout blow.
The on-off skirmishes in the capital have displaced 122,000 people since May
7 and killed hundreds. Since the start of 2007 more than 18,000 people have
been killed and at least one million depend on food aid in a country prone
to drought.
Residents, local media, some aid groups and Islamist insurgents have
reported seeing Ethiopian troops on the Somali side of the border in the
past few weeks and months.
Ethiopia initially denied making any incursions, but said earlier this month
that military personnel had been carrying out "reconnaissance" missions into
Somalia.
Residents in Galgadud region north of the capital said on Friday that
heavily-armed Ethiopian troops arrived in Balanbale, a town controlled by
pro-government forces. [ID:nLC531569]
"I know that Galgadud is the birthplace of Dahir Aweys. Let alone entering
central Somalia, we are not in Somalia at all," Bereket said. (Editing by
David Clarke)
C Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
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