Gunmen attack Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia, killing 1
Jan 25, 2007 (KISMAYO, Somalia) — Gunmen attacked Ethiopian soldiers stationed in southern Somalia on Thursday, killing one and wounding another with a gunshot to the chest, witnesses said.
The violence broke out in the money exchange market in Kismayo, said Abdullahi Hassan, a money changer.
“The gunmen used pistols …. They have taken the Ethiopian soldiers’ AK-47s,” he said.
Earlier this week Ethiopian troops, whose military strength was crucial to helping Somalia’s government drive out a radical Islamic militia, began their withdrawal. It was not clear when the withdrawal would be complete.
Many Somalis resented the presence of Ethiopian troops here; the two countries fought a war in 1977. But without Ethiopia’s tanks and fighter jets, the Somali government could barely assert control outside one town and couldn’t enter the capital, Mogadishu, which was ruled by the Council of Islamic Courts. The U.S. accused the group of having ties to al-Qaida.
The withdrawal of Ethiopia, which says it cannot afford to stay in Somalia, raises a sense of urgency for the arrival of a proposed African peacekeeping force. The African Union has approved a plan to send about 8,000 peacekeepers for a six-month mission that would eventually be taken over by the U.N.
Col. Ayo Olaniyan, spokesman for the Nigeria army, said late Wednesday that his country was readying hundreds of troops for deployment to Somalia. Nigeria said it hasn’t officially been asked to participate, but is preparing in case the request comes. Nigeria is heavily involved in peacekeeping elsewhere, including in Sudan’s Darfur.
Malawi and Uganda have said they want to contribute troops, but no firm plans are in place.
On Wednesday, U.S. defense officials said the United States launched an airstrike earlier this week in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets _ the second such attack this month.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the strike was carried out in secret by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week, provided few details and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed.
The U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, who also represents U.S. interests in Somalia, met Wednesday with a top leader of the ousted Islamic movement in Nairobi, Kenya, according to an embassy official who refused to elaborate.
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, considered by American officials a moderate who could contribute to rebuilding Somalia, turned himself in to authorities in Kenya because he apparently was afraid for his life. He is not believed to be wanted by the authorities.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, when asked whether he believed Ahmed should be part of the peace process, said: “As far as I know, Sheik Sharif doesn’t represent anybody.” He also said “quite a few” Somali fighters captured by his forces were being held in Ethiopia. He declined to elaborate.
In Washington, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to confirm any new strike but said that in general the United States is “going to go after al-Qaida in the global war on terrorism wherever it takes us.”
He said the nature of some military operations, especially those by special operations commando forces, requires that they be kept secret in order to preserve an advantage in future missions.
Lt. Cmdr. Marc Boyd, a spokesman at U.S. Special Operations Command, declined to comment.
Earlier this month, Ethiopian and U.S. forces were pursuing three top al-Qaida suspects but failed to capture or kill them in an AC-130 strike in the southern part of Somalia. A main target that time was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, one of three senior al-Qaida members blamed for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The U.S. Navy also has had forces in waters off the Somali coast, where they have monitored maritime traffic, boarded suspicious ships and interrogated crews in an attempt to catch anyone escaping the Somalia military operations.
(AP)