Ethiopian troops have shelled a central Somalia town, two days after the United Nations passed a resolution to ease an arms embargo on Somalia, an official of the country’s Islamic courts said on Friday.
This is the second time in 10 days the Ethiopians are reported to have shelled Bandiradley, about 630km north-east of the capital, Mogadishu.
”Ethiopian soldiers massed around Bandiradley soon after the arms embargo had been lifted and started firing missiles toward our positions,” said Sheikh Abdullahi Ali Hashi, a spokesperson for the Council of Islamic Courts told the media by telephone from central Somalia.
Hashi said that the Ethiopian troops conducted the attack accompanied by militiamen loyal to warlord Abdi Hassan Awale, who is also known as Abdi Qeybdiid.
Eyewitnesses in Dagaari village near Bandiradley said that they saw hundreds of Ethiopian troops and tanks take up new positions near the town in coordination with militia from the north-eastern semi-autonomous region of Puntland and Qeybdiid’s militia.
They said that this new movement puts these forces and their rival Islamic courts’ militias only 2km apart.
”Ethiopians and their allied regional militia have increased their military presence here. Now they are advancing towards Bandiradley,” said a local resident on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals.
On Wednesday the UN passed a resolution allowing for an African peacekeeping force for Somalia and easing a 14-year arms embargo on Somalia so such a force can equip itself.
However, the resolution stopped Somalia’s neighbours — Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya — from contributing troops.
On November 28, the Islamic courts claimed that Ethiopian troops shelled 12 missiles on Bandiradley, about two weeks after Islamic militia seized the town.
Bandiradley is the farthest northern town the Islamic militia have seized. The Council of Islamic Courts controls much of southern Somalia and has been trying to expand into central Somalia.
Somalia has not had an effective central government for 15 years and a transitional government that was formed two years has little authority in the country. — Sapa-AP