Ethiopian troops on Somali soil

20 July, 2006

A column of Ethiopian trucks, more than 100-strong and including armoured cars, have crossed into neighbouring Somalia.

A BBC reporter has seen Ethiopian troops in uniform in Baidoa, the base of the weak interim government.

Ethiopia denies it has sent in troops, but had warned it would crush Islamists who had moved to within 60km of Baidoa.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which control much of southern Somalia, say they never intended to attack Baidoa and have pulled troops back.

The UIC have rapidly expanded their control since they took control of the capital, Mogadishu, but observers fear it is only a matter of time before there is a confrontation.

Ethiopian presidential adviser Bereket Simon told the BBC that they were closely watching the situation but denied troops had crossed into Somalia.

Calmed tensions

The BBC's Yusuf Hassan Mursal in Baidoa says 25 vehicles including lorries carrying soldiers and armed pick-up trucks known as technicals entered the town on Thursday morning.

He says their arrival has calmed tensions in the town as residents feared an attack from the Islamists.

The column was reported to have crossed over into Somalia overnight and Ethiopian troops have also stationed themselves in the town of Luk in Gedo region, he says.

Ethiopia's Information Minister Berhan Hailu told Reuters news agency in Addis Ababa that they would use "all means at our disposal to crush the Islamist group if they attempt to attack Baidoa".

Mr Bereket told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that "Ethiopia is in a position to defend itself to ensure the stability of the Horn of Africa".

"If the Islamic courts led by the Jihadists are attacking Baidoa, we have told them we will not let them do it.

"So far the Ethiopian government has not sent any troops," he said.

The Islamists insist that an attack on Baidoa was never planned.

"We have no such military plan as claimed by the non-functioning government," the UIC's security head Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad told the AFP news agency.

"The prime minister's claims are a ploy to attract Ethiopian intervention."

Credibility problem

BBC African analyst Martin Plaut says the Ethiopian action puts the future of the transitional government in question.

Far from buttressing the administration, it may be the final blow to its credibility. Many MPs will not wish to serve in what will be seen as a puppet government, and observers believe they may leave Baidoa, he says.

On Wednesday, Somalia's interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi warned that the Islamists planned to advance on Baidoa, where a curfew has been imposed.

His comments followed reports that 150 government troops had defected to the UIC.

Observers say Ethiopia's action may derail efforts to organise talks between the government and UIC which have been rescheduled to begin in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Saturday.

Clean-up

The UIC, which has brought some form of law and order to areas under their control after years of anarchy, has begun a massive clean-up campaign in the capital.

It is the first time rubbish collectors will have access to the whole city, which until last month was split up into fiefdoms controlled by rival warlords.

Correspondents say Mogadishu¿s litter-strewn streets have been a visible sign that the city has had no central authority for more than a decade.

Hundreds of volunteers joined in to collect the debris on Thursday morning.

from BBC NEWS