Somali Islamist orders 'holy war'A Somali Islamist leader has ordered a "holy war" to drive out Ethiopian troops, after they entered the country to protect the weak interim government."I am calling on the Somali people to wage a holy war against Ethiopians in Somalia," said Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys of the Union of Islamic Courts.Ethiopia denies that its forces are in the government's base of Baidoa, but a BBC reporter has seen them patrolling.The UIC took control of the capital, Moghadishu, last month.Since then it has consolidated its power over much of southern Somalia.But Ethiopia is strongly opposed to the Islamists and has repeatedly warned that it will send its army into Somalia if the interim government is attacked.On Wednesday, Islamist militia were reported to have advanced to within 60km (37 miles) of Baidoa. They have since withdrawn and deny planning to attack the town.Ethiopia has been a long-term ally of President Abdullahi Yusuf and in the 1990s helped him defeat an Islamist militia led by Mr Aweys.Speaking on national radio station Shabelle, Mr Aweys accused President Yusuf of being "a servant of Ethiopia for a long time".Earlier, another UIC leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said that Somalis had to defend themselves, AFP news agency reported."Anybody who sides with Ethiopia will be considered a traitor," Reuters news agency quoted Mr Ahmed as saying.A peace march has been held in Moghadishu, urging the Ethiopians to withdraw.
Somali Islamists declare jihad against EthiopiaMOGADISHU: The leader of Somalia's Islamic courts union on Friday declared a "holy war" against neighbouring Ethiopia, whose troops have moved into the country to protect its weak transitional government."The Somali people have to fight against Ethiopia, this is a holy war in which we are defending our country," Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said on local radio, speaking from his native Galgudud region in central Somalia."The Ethiopians have invaded our country and we must force them out of the country and this will be a holy war of Jihad."Aweys' Islamists, who have taken control the capital Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia, have demanded the immediate withdrawal of Ethiopians who according to eyewitnesses sent more military vehicles into Baidoa, the seat of the transitional government, overnight.In Baidoa, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, residents said at least nine more large Ethiopian military vehicles carrying supplies, but no troops, moved into the town early on Friday.These followed an initial convoy of more than 100 trucks with several hundred Ethiopian soldiers that witnesses said rolled into Baidoa and surrounding areas Thursday, after Islamist militia advanced on a nearby town.Ethiopia has said it will defend the transitional government from any attack by the Islamists, who it and the US accuse of harboring extremists, including Al-Qaeda members wanted for attacks in east Africa.Somalia has been wracked by lawlessness since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, which plunged the nation of about 10 million people into anarchic bloodletting.
Facts about tense Somalia-Ethiopia historyJuly 21 (Reuters) - The incursion of Ethiopian troops into Somalia to deter further advances by Islamist militia and protect the interim government is just the latest flare-up in a long history of tension between them.Here are key facts about their relations:* Ethiopia and Somalia have been rivals throughout history, and memories of the 1977-78 Ogaden war between the two are still fresh. Fought against a backdrop of shifting Cold War alliances, Ethiopia's army crushed Somali troops who tried to lay claim to the Ogaden region with the vision of recapturing ethnically Somali territories outside of Somalia. Ethiopia had seized the Ogaden in the early 1900s in what Somalis viewed as a colonialist expansion by a Christian empire.* The desolate Somali regions on both sides of the border have long been a hotbed of insurgent movements against both countries. Security experts say many nations in the region are happy to fight their conflicts there by proxy. A report to the United Nations on arms embargo violations says Eritrea has given weapons to the Islamists in the past year to frustrate Somalia's Ethiopian-backed government. Eritrea denies the charge.* Ethiopia has not hesitated to send troops into Somalia to attack radical Somali Islamic movements, wary they could stir up trouble in the ethnically Somali regions on its side of the border.* Several times from 1992 through to 1998, Ethiopian soldiers attacked members of al-Itihaad al-Islaami, a militant Somali group the United States has on a list of organisations linked to terrorism. The current Islamist leader in Somalia, hardliner Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, was head of its military wing during that time.* Security experts and diplomats say roughly 5,000 Ethiopian troops crossed the border into Somalia earlier this month and another 20,000 have massed along the frontier so they can move in swiftly. Ethiopia and the Somali government deny any troops have entered Somalia, but Addis Ababa has said it will attack the Islamists if they advance on the government seat in aidoa.
UN envoy in Somalia tries to ease tension with neighbour EthiopiaFall is there to try to reach an agreement on negotiations between Somalia's Islamic courts that control most of southern Somalia and President Yusuf's govt following reports of Ethiopian troops presence in the country.A top United Nations envoy arrived Tuesday at the base of Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed transitional government for one-day meetings with senior government officials and their rival Islamic aimed at easing tension in the country following reports of Ethiopian troops presence in Somalia.Francois Lonseny Fall, the special representative to Somalia of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, is in Somalia to try to reach an agreement on negotiations between Somalia's Islamic courts that control most of southern Somalia and President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.Arab League-sponsored talks between the two sides collapsed in Khartoum, Sudan Saturday with Islamic courts representatives walking out in protest at Ethiopian troops presence in Somalia and the government side wanting international guarantees that any agreement reached would be respected.Ethiopian and Somali government officials deny that Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia, despite widespread witness accounts that the soldiers arrived five days ago to help ward off Islamic militants who have been accused of links to al-Qaida.Fall made no comment to journalists as he went into closed-door meetings with Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden. The compound where they are meeting is under heavy security.Fall is scheduled to go later on Tuesday to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to meet with officials of the Islamic courts.Traditional enemiesEthiopia, a largely Christian country, is the long-time enemy of Somalia, which is mostly Muslim. Somali government leaders may be reluctant to acknowledge that the Ethiopians have come to their aid because they don't want to appear beholden to a traditional adversary. Yusuf is allied with Ethiopia and has asked for its support.Anti-Ethiopian sentiment ran high during the rally organized by the Supreme Islamic Courts Council militia, which seized control of the capital and much of the rest of southern Somalia after months of bloody battles.Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving much of the country into armed camps ruled by violence and clan law.A new government, which includes some warlords linked to the violence of the past, was established almost two years ago with the support of the United Nations. But the body wields no real power, has no military and only operates in Baidoa, 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.Solomon Abebe, spokesman for the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, refused Monday to address the witness accounts of Ethiopian troops, but lashed out at the Islamic militia's leader, calling Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys "scum" and a terrorist. Salad Ali Jeeley, the government's deputy information minister, said Monday's rally was "aimed at igniting the conflict in Somalia."
Somali minister assassinated outside mosqueBAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a Somali minister outside a mosque on Friday at the fragile interim government's provincial base Baidoa in what one official called an "organised assassination".Witnesses said gunmen opened fire on Constitution and Federalism Minister Abdallah Deerow Isaq as he left prayers -- an attack sure to heighten tensions in the violence-plagued Horn of Africa nation which many fear is sliding towards war."So far we do not know who did it. They shot him as he was leaving the mosque then ran off. Police are chasing the gunmen," Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayr told Reuters from Baidoa, seat of the fragile interim Somali government."It looks like an organised assassination," he added.Formed in 2004 in the 14th attempt to restore central rule to Somalia since the 1991 ousting of a military dictator, the government's authority has been challenged by the rise of an Islamist movement that took Mogadishu and other towns in June.Borne out of sharia courts formed from the mid-1990s to restore some order to Mogadishu during a period of anarchy and violence, the Islamists defeated U.S.-backed warlords in Mogadishu and have since expanded to take other towns.With Ethiopian troops now said to be in Somalia to support the government, and Eritrea believed by many to be arming the Islamists, many Somalis are bracing for full-scale conflict.A Baidoa hospital nurse said Isaq, a former schoolteacher, came in with four bullet wounds in the heart and chest."The doctors tried to check him but he was already dead," she told Reuters by telephone.There was no immediate reaction from the Islamists.CONFUSION AND TENSIONShocked diplomats and analysts said the killing could have been by an Islamist extremist or linked to internal divisions within the government. A no confidence motion on Prime Minister Ali Gedi is due to be debated in parliament on Saturday."The situation is so confused and tense in Baidoa, it looks like someone wanted to deepen this," a Western diplomat in Nairobi said.Omar Jamal, a U.S.-based Somali exile who heads an advocacy group, said sources in Baidoa told him militants were to blame."The only organisations that can carry out such well-thought out plans in Somalia now are organisations affiliated to al Qaeda," he said.In Mogadishu, another mysterious plane landed on Friday, fuelling suspicions the Islamists were receiving weapon deliveries. Their militia blocked roads near the airport as unidentified cargo was unloaded.Residents said several trucks came to collect the delivery from the airport. "The Islamists are arming themselves and now we have to wait for fighting," said resident Abdullahi Ali.On Wednesday, a cargo plane delivered goods an Islamist aide said were sewing machines. But the government pointed the finger at Eritrea, which it said was secretly arming the Islamists.In what government sources say were moves to draw the Islamists into peace talks and avert war, 18 ministers and other top officials quit the interim government on Thursday and lawmakers sought to oust the prime minister.Government officials and analysts say offering the prime minister's job and some other ministerial posts to the Islamists in a power-sharing pact could be the only way to secure peace.(Additional reporting by Mohamed Ali Bile in Mogadishu and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Nairobi)
The Islamists, who control much of southern Somalia including Mogadishu, are at loggerheads with the government over the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect the fragile government.The government and the largely Ethiopian Christian regime have rejected the incursion claims, arguing that the SICS was looking for an excuse to wage war and expand its territory.
Como te tinha dito, o título Etiópia VS Somália está errado.
Citação de: "Marauder"Como te tinha dito, o título Etiópia VS Somália está errado.Nao ha nada que eu possa fazer a esse respeito... Isso so um moderador.
Citação de: "Azraael"Citação de: "Marauder"Como te tinha dito, o título Etiópia VS Somália está errado.Nao ha nada que eu possa fazer a esse respeito... Isso so um moderador.Editas a 1ª mensagem, mudando o título
Somalia Government Needs Own Defense Force: U.S.ReutersTue, 1 Aug 2006, 00:25The international community should help Somalia's interim government set up a defense force to keep out neighbors meddling in its growing crisis, a senior U.S. diplomat said on July 31.U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer has warned Horn of Africa foes Eritrea and Ethiopia to stay out of Somalia, where they are believed to be backing rival sides.Witnesses say Ethiopia has sent troops to back the fragile interim government and Eritrea is believed to be supplying arms to rival Islamists, whose rise has challenged the administration's authority."Very clearly the transitional federal institutions are considered the legitimate entities for government and they need to have some type of defense," Frazer told Reuters on July 31."We as a matter of urgency need to consider the request for some type of force to come in and train up those transitional federal institutions. That's the best way to keep out these more immediate neighbors."The African Union and east African regional body IGAD have both proposed foreign peacekeeping troops, a plan fiercely opposed by the Islamists.Addis Ababa, which fears a hardline Islamist state on its doorstep, accuses Mogadishu's new rulers of being terrorists. It also worries about their possible aspirations to incorporate ethnic Somali regions such as Ethiopia's Ogaden."If we want to keep the Ethiopians out, we need to give some capacity and training to the transitional national authorities if they are going to be under attack," Frazer said, adding Uganda could provide a training force.Islamists seized Somalia's capital Mogadishu on June 5 and now control a swathe of the south. The government, formed in 2004 in the 14th attempt to bring central rule to the anarchic nation since 1991, is based in the provincial town of Baidoa.A first round of peace talks between both sides took place in Khartoum, Sudan, in June, but a second round broke down after the government boycotted negotiations in protest at alleged violations of a pact against military expansion."SPEAKING WITH TWO VOICES"Frazer criticized the Somali government for not attending the talks scheduled, saying they had made a "huge mistake" but said the Islamists should not have made territorial advances after a ceasefire was agreed."When that was violated, essentially we realized that maybe the Union of Islamic Courts is speaking with two voices," she said."Maybe there are those who went to Khartoum and said they respected the transitional federal institutions and government and there may be other elements ... that don't at all."Frazer called for further talks, slated for this week, but warned that it would be difficult to continue a process with extremists leaning towards confrontation."If the extremists and those who are intent on a fight are controlling the dynamic, there's not a choice but to try and defend the TFI...Frankly if extremists want a fight, they are going to find one," Frazer said.She made the comments after observing Democratic Republic of Congo's first elections in over 40 years, where peaceful polls offered central Africa some hope after a decade of war and massacres.But Frazer issued a stark warning for the continent's northeastern tip: "As the rest of Africa is moving towards peace the Horn of Africa is disintegrating into chaos."
