Somali soldiers, backed by Ethiopian forces, on Monday seized control of a town near the government base in south-central Somalia, forcing militia allied to the Islamic courts based in Mogadishu to flee from the town, witnesses said.
They said hundreds of heavily armed government fighters and Ethiopian troops entered Burahakaba, about 60km south-east of Baidoa.
”Ethiopian forces have taken over Burahakaba. My militiamen were forced to retreated to the nearby Jameah town,” said Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, a commander of local militia that was holding the township.
Earlier, witness in Baidoa, about 250km north-west of Mogadishu, reported seeing Ethiopia troops leaving the township and taking the route to the capital.
”I saw at least 72 armed trucks with infantry troops on board passing in front of my house near southern Baidoa 30th street. All people in the village have counted the military vehicles and the troops onboard were waving us while passing,” said Hussein Mursal Hassan, a local elder.
”They were taking the road leading to Mogadishu and they really looked ambitious to fight,” added Hassan.
The seizure comes a day after the Islamists, who control much of southern Somalia including the capital, warned that a regional war could erupt unless the world presses Addis Ababa to withdraw the troops from the Horn of Africa nation. — AFP
