From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Aug 21 2009 - 10:56:29 EDT
15 dead in Somalia fighting, witnesses say
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN (AP) – 1 day ago
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Fighting between government soldiers and Islamic
insurgents killed at least 15 people in central Somalia on Thursday as the
warring sides tried to gain ground in strategic towns.
Witnesses also reported seeing troops from neighboring Ethiopia roll into
the country — a development that would enrage insurgents who saw Ethiopia as
an occupying force after it helped drive out Islamists in 2006.
The fighting started Thursday in Bula Burte, about 130 miles (210
kilometers) north of the capital, Mogadishu, when government soldiers moved
into the town controlled by the insurgent group al-Shabab. The United States
says the group has ties to al-Qaida, which al-Shabab denies.
Local resident Osman Ganey said he saw 15 corpses and that the fighting was
continuing.
"We closed all our shops and most of the residents are fleeing from the
town," a local businessman, Mohamed Ibrahim, told The Associated Press by
telephone.
Also Thursday, al-Shabab fighters moved into Belet Weyne, near the border
with Ethiopia, forcing government soldiers to retreat to the far side of
town. The insurgents moved in after witnesses spotted Ethiopian troops
there, identifying them by their uniforms and their trucks with Ethiopian
license plates.
Ali Mohamed Gedi, a spokesman for the regional government, denied Ethiopians
were in the country.
"There was no big fighting but the government soldiers have left the western
part of Belet Weyne and the al-Shabab men are in control," said local
resident Daud Haji Ibar.
Controlling Belet Weyne is vital from a military standpoint because of the
town's proximity to Ethiopia, which has sent troops here in the past to stop
Islamists from taking power. It also serves as a link between southern
Somalia and the agriculturally rich central region.
Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew
dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. Al-Shabab,
which has foreign fighters in its ranks, operates openly in the capital and
seeks to overthrow the government and impose a strict form of Islam in
Somalia.
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