Ethiopia Should Stay Out of Somalia

By The Media Line news agency

Unconfirmed reports by local Somali eyewitnesses indicate that Ethiopian military troops were seen re-entering Somalia in possible preparation for an attack against Islamist forces in the country.

Local residents in Kalabeyrka, a border town in Hiran District, told media outlets that Ethiopian troops and vehicles arrived there on Monday and set up a checkpoint. Residents of another town, Baldawin, said they saw at least 17 Ethiopian military vehicles carrying soldiers across the border.

Sheikh 'Abd A-Rahman Ibrahim, leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Courts (SCIC) in Hiran District, said his forces would not tolerate the presence of Ethiopian forces in the country and that if the Ethiopians did not leave within 24 hours, he would fight them.

Addis Abba is denying reports that its troops are returning.

"According to my information, there is no [Ethiopian] invasion," director of the Arab League's African Department, Samir Husni, told The Media Line (TML).

Husni added that the last Ethiopian invasion in Somalia complicated the situation on the ground, harming reconciliation and peacekeeping efforts.

"I hope the Ethiopian troops will guard their border rather than invade Somalia again," said Husni.

Ethiopian troops left the country in January 2009 after a two-year presence in Somalia. Their departure was largely welcomed by Somalis, but sparked fears of a security vacuum.

An African Union peacekeeping force remains in Somalia, which has not had a stable government since 1991.

Ethiopia troops first deployed in Somalia in December 2006 at the request of the Transitional Federal Government, and helped defeat Islamists who had taken control of the capital Mogadishu and large parts of the country in the south for several months.

After they were defeated, various Islamists began to regroup and launched almost daily attacks on peacekeepers, soldiers, aid agencies and civilians, in which thousands were killed.

The newly elected Somali president, Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, said at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa that he would put great efforts into establishing good relations between Somalia and Ethiopia.

The rumors that Ethiopian troops were returning to Somalia came a day after at least 18 civilians were killed, allegedly by AU troops, in Mogadishu after a roadside bomb hit an AU convoy.

Ahmad still faces significant opposition from rival Islamist groups, including A-Shabab Al-Mujahidun and the Eritrea-based faction of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS).

"The main issue now is to have an inclusive dialogue among all the factions, including the radical Islamic group in Asmara [capital of Eritrea], in order to agree on how to reach reconciliation and stability," Husni told TML.

(c) 2008. The Media Line Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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