From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat Mar 14 2009 - 13:36:53 EST
Somalia: 12 dead bodies 'discovered' in Baidoa, Ethiopia accused
14 Mar 14, 2009 - 10:17:22 AM
BAIDOA, Somalia Mar 14 (Garowe Online) - Islamists who control several
regions in south-central Somalia have accused Ethiopian troops of
committing massacre after discovering the remains of 12 dead persons,
Radio Garowe reports.
Muktar Robow "Abu Mansur," the spokesman for Al Shabaab fighters,
invited local reporters to the ex-Hasey factory in the southwestern town
of Baidoa, formerly the seat of Somalia's federal parliament.
Pointing at the bones, Abu Mansur said: "These people were killed by the
enemy troops [Ethiopia] who were here [Baidoa] for two years and these
people were killed for their faith."
An independent journalist who saw the dead body remains described all
the victims as males, who were buried while wearing "Islamic clothing,"
including the ' imama popularly worn by devout Muslim men.
"This is history for the Somali people and the crimes committed here
will be blamed on the government of Abdullahi Yusuf, Ethiopia and the
United States," Abu Mansur said, while referring to Somalia's former
president who resigned in Dec. 2008.
Abu Mansur vowed that Al Shabaab will continue the war until African
Union peacekeepers serving in Mogadishu leave the country.
Sheikh Hassan Mohamed "Abu Ayman," the Al Shabaab administrator in
Baidoa, said the world must know that Ethiopian troops "committed
massacres during their occupation of Somalia."
Hundreds of Baidoa locals watched as the body remains were removed one
after another for proper burial at the cemetery.
Thousands of Ethiopian troops were deployed in south-central Somalia in
2007 and 2008, with heavy concentrations of troops in Mogadishu and
Baidoa.
Al Shabaab guerrillas spearheaded a bloody two-year insurgency to uproot
the Ethiopian troops, who were widely despised across Somalia and
perceived as occupiers.
A 4,000-strong AU peacekeeping force in Mogadishu has come under growing
scrutiny following the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces in early January.
Source: Garowe Online
http://garowe.com/
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