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Somali government forces, Ethiopians clash for second day with Islamic militia.
Sunday Dec. 10, 2006
8:00 AM
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN
MOGADISHU , Somalia (AP) - Somali government forces, backed by Ethiopian troops, clashed for a second day with Islamic militiamen near a village in southern Somalia , officials said Saturday.
Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said Islamic militiamen attacked government positions, while Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, an Islamic official, said the government had launched a counterattack at Rama'addey village.
"The Ethiopian troops, along with government troops, have counterattacked our militia...The fighting is going on," said Bilal, an official in the Bay region where the village is located.
Somalia 's government and Ethiopia have consistently denied Ethiopian forces are in the country but their presence has been widely reported by witnesses and journalists. Ethiopia has said it has a few hundred military advisers in Somalia helping the government form a national army.
Somalia has not had an effective central government for 15 years, after warlords overthrew longtime U.S.-backed dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in'91 and then turned on each other.
The transitional government was formed two years ago but has been unable to assert its authority over the country. Since June, the Council of Islamic Courts has seized the capital, Mogadishu , and taken control of much of southern Somalia .
Rama'addey, about 80 kilometres southwest of the government's headquarters Baidoa, is at a frontline between the Islamic and government forces.
Speaking in neighbouring Kenya 's capital, Gedi said the Islamic militia fought with a government reconnaissance force Friday. He said it was clear the Islamic forces were attempting to destabilize his government by attacking his forces.
"They met with a reconnaissance team from the government in the area, some fighting took place and casualties were limited," Gedi said.
"This morning, they have attacked the government forces on the frontline and the fighting is continuing."
He said the fighting was not the beginning of a government offensive and reiterated he was prepared for renewed peace talks, scheduled for later this month in Sudan . But he said it was clear the Islamic forces were attempting to continue their military advance in defiance of a UN resolution passed Wednesday.
The UN Security Council authorized an African force to protect Somalia 's government and urged the Islamic militia to stop any further military expansion and join the government in peace talks. It threatens Security Council action against those who block peace efforts or attempt to overthrow the government. No measures were mentioned but they could include sanctions.
On Friday, the rivals clashed in Safarnoolees village, which served as a base for government forces. The Islamic militiamen claimed they had routed the government forces, which deputy defence minister Salad Ali Jelle denied.
Witnesses reported Saturday they counted at least 15 people killed and' others wounded in that fighting. "We could see the dead bodies but we couldn't know who they were," said Sheikh Abdi Garre, who saw the bodies on the road to Baidoa, where he spoke by phone.
Sheikh Ibrahim Shukri Abuu-zeynab, a spokesman for the Islamic forces, said the dead were government and Ethiopian soldiers. Jelle denied Ethiopians were fighting on the government side and said the dead were not government soldiers.
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