Ethiopia confirms counterattack against Somali Islamists

Dec 24, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian government said Sunday its troops have launched a counter attack against Islamist forces in Somalia as fighting in the lawless nation entered a fifth day.

“The Ethiopian defense forces have started counterattacking today, so basically the counterattack is taking place on the ground,” a government spokesman told AFP Sunday, speaking for Information Minister Berahne Hailu.

Somalia’s powerful Islamists earlier accused Ethiopia, which is supporting the country’s weak government, of launching air raids on their strongholds in the country’s central region, but Addis Ababa denied that aircraft were involved.

“Our army has started counterattacking. Our patience has been exhausted, provocations and attacks by extremists have continued. Ethiopia has started to use its rights for self defence,” the Ethiopian government spokesman said.

The Ethiopian defence ministry also said troops were on the offensive, but added that “the National Defence Forces have initially taken defensive measures against terrorist forces that attempted to infiltrate into Ethiopia to launch attacks and then extended their offensive … in various parts of Somalia.”

Mainly Christian Ethiopia has watched with growing concern the rise on its southeastern border of the Islamists, who in June seized the capital of the lawless nation, Mogadishu, and now control most of southern and central Somalia.

The Ethiopian government has hitherto denied reports it has thousands of soldiers backing the Somali government, which is based in Baidoa but controls no other major towns, but acknowledged having military trainers and advisers in the neighbouring country.

“After a long patience, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (NDF) on Sunday started taking measures to foil the attack launched against Ethiopia by fundamentalist forces gathered in Somalia,” the defence ministry spokesperson said in a statement reported by the Ethiopian News Agency.

“The offensive was launched on terrorist positions at Bur Hakaba, Beledweyne, Bandiradleey and Dinsoor localities,” referring to strongholds of the Islamist forces.

With a large ethnic Somali population, Ethiopia fears radicalization of its sizable Muslim minority by the Islamists, some of whom are accused of links to Al-Qaeda, who have imposed strict Sharia law in areas they control.

(AFP)