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rfmcdonaldOh, Lord. From the International Herald Tribune.
Jonathan Edelstein provides all the necessary background on this impending conflict. Suffice it to say that, just a few short years after the destructive Ethiopia-Eritrea War of 1999-2000, Ethiopia now finds itself involved in a conflict against a Somalia recently reunified by the Islamic Courts Union, using the powerless Transitional Federal Government as a figleaf as part of an offensive against a potentially hostile regime that might have claims on Somali-populated territories in Ethiopia. No word yet on how this emerging conflict will impact the unrecognized republic of Somaliland and the autonomous state of Puntland, both in Somalia's north. Certainly, Eritrea is interested in supporting Somalia against its historical enemy.
Just great.
Ethiopian troops in armored vehicles rolled into Somali Thursday and set up a camp near the home of the interim president, residents said, less than a day after Islamic militants reached the outskirts of the base of a U.N.-backed, but largely powerless government.
A leader of the Islamic group controlling large parts of southern Somalia demanded that Ethiopian troops withdraw. "We will declare Jihad if the Ethiopian government refuses to withdraw their troops from Somalia. They must withdraw as soon as possible ... We will wait for some time to see if they respect our demands," Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed told The Associated Press.
A spokesman for the Ethiopian government had said that his country would protect Somalia's transitional government from attack by the Somali Islamic militias. Numerous witnesses told The AP that Ethiopian soldiers arrived Thursday afternoon in Baidoa, the only town held by the government, 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Mogadishu and about 150 kilometers (100 miles) east of the Ethiopian border.
Jonathan Edelstein provides all the necessary background on this impending conflict. Suffice it to say that, just a few short years after the destructive Ethiopia-Eritrea War of 1999-2000, Ethiopia now finds itself involved in a conflict against a Somalia recently reunified by the Islamic Courts Union, using the powerless Transitional Federal Government as a figleaf as part of an offensive against a potentially hostile regime that might have claims on Somali-populated territories in Ethiopia. No word yet on how this emerging conflict will impact the unrecognized republic of Somaliland and the autonomous state of Puntland, both in Somalia's north. Certainly, Eritrea is interested in supporting Somalia against its historical enemy.
Just great.
