From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sun Oct 11 2009 - 16:06:02 EDT
Ethiopian army crosses into Somalia: residents
11/10/2009
(AFP)
MOGADISHU - Several hundred Ethiopian soldiers crossed into neighbouring
Somalia at the weekend, arresting dozens of villagers linked to hardline
Islamists, elders and residents told AFP on Sunday.
The Ethiopian forces, accompanied by Somali pro-government clan-based
militias, entered three villages west of Beledweyn, some 300 kilometres (186
miles) north of Mogadishu, on Saturday afternoon.
"I saw dozens of armed vehicles belonging to the Ethiopian army with some
Somali militias, they entered Wagada village and detained several people
before getting out of the village this morning," Husein Farah Gomey, an
elder near Beledweyn told AFP by phone.
Mohamed Nur Adan, another elder in a nearby village also said that his
cousin was among dozens detained for questioning by the Ethiopian forces.
"Hundreds of them entered the area late Saturday, they detained 13 people
including my cousin but they later released him after questioning him for
several hours," he said.
The residents said that while the Ethiopians let some of their detainees go,
they took others with them.
Local Islamist officials in the region also confirmed the cross-border raid
by the Ethiopian forces.
"It is not the first time they have carried out such raids inside Somalia
taking innocent civilians with them, but we tell them that such provocation
will only breed bloodshed," Sheik Abdurahman Sheik Mohamoud, a senior Hezb
al Islam commander said.
Some of the residents told AFP the Ethiopian forces crossed from the border
town of Ferfer tracing members from the Ogaden rebel group that fighting the
Ethiopian government.
Ethiopian troops have entered the Beledweyn area on several occasions, with
the most-recently reported raid being the end of August when they and Somali
government troops drove Islamist rebels from the town.
Ethiopia ended an ill-fated two-year invasion of Somalia in January which
had been aimed at uprooting Islamic extremists and consolidating the
transitional government.
Copyright C 2009 AFP.
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