From: Yemane Natnael (yemane_natnael@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Aug 14 2008 - 12:49:02 EDT
40 Ethiopians die in Southern Somalia
Thu, 14 Aug 2008
Severe
clashes between Ethiopian military and Somali rebels have killed tens
of the foreign soldiers, leaving at least 15 civilians dead.
The fighting broke out Wednesday between Lower Shabelle region and
Baidoa in southern Somalia, leaving some 40 Ethiopians dead, a Press TV
correspondent reported.
The incident came when Jabhad al-Islamiya rebels, backed by
the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), targeted five Ethiopian military
vehicles as they were heading to Afgoye, about 30 km (20 miles) south
of the capital Mogadishu.
The attack was followed by heavy exchange of fire between the clashing sides, which claimed the lives of more than 15 civilians.
Elmi Mooge, the spokesman for the Jabhad al-Islamiya claimed the Ethiopian death toll stood at 50. Local sources in the area, however, reported fewer deaths.
Somalia has suffered a lack of an effective central government
since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991 while the
Baidoa-based Transitional Federal Government -headed by President
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed- controls only parts of Southern Somalia.
Violence in the Horn of Africa nation has already claimed the lives
of more than 8,000 civilians and driven one million people from their
homes since January 2007.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=66558§ionid=351020501
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