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23 November 2006
MOGADISHU (AFP) - A powerful Somali militia has said it was ready to fight Ethiopian invaders, sparking fears of an all-out war in the lawless African nation.
Less than an hour after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said he had finalised preparations for war, the Islamists war council urged Ethiopia to refrain from sabre-rattling, but announced their readiness to defend themselves.
"If Ethiopia is ready for war, we are very ready for the defense of our country, but we urge Ethiopia to refrain from its reckless, war-thirsty behaviour," said Abdurahim Ali Muddey, the spokesman for the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) told AFP Thursday.
Muddey rejected Meles claims that the Islamists, whom it accuses of links to Osama bib Laden's Al-Qaeda network, was "a clear threat" to its security and that they had rejected peace talks.
"We are not a threat to Ethiopia, but the presence of its troops in our homeland is a serious security risk to Somalia as well as Ethiopia," he said.
The Islamists have declared a holy war on Ethiopia, which had deployed troops to defend the weak Somalia government from a feared Islamic advance.
In recent weeks, the Islamists have clashed with Ethiopian troops near Baidoa, the seat of government, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu.
The Islamists say they have inflicted heavy casualities on the Ethiopians, including the destruction of military carriers and the killing of two soldiers, but Addis Ababa has refused to confirm or deny.
Ethiopia denies deploying thousands of combat troops in Somalia but admits several hundred military advisers, trainers and support personnel have been sent to help the government.
Security experts have warned that war between the Islamists and Ethiopia will draw in its arch-rival Eritrea, whom it has a border dispute, thereby escalating into a regional conflict.
Somalia, a nation of 10 million has lacked an effective government since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991 and a government formed in Kenya in 2004 has failed to exert control across the lawless nation.
