ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Ethiopia has completed its preparations for a potential attack by Islamic militants from neighboring Somalia who have declared a holy war on the country, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Thursday.
Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation, backs Somalia's two-year-old acting government, which has failed to exert any real influence. Somalia's increasingly powerful Council of Islamic Courts has denounced interference by Ethiopia.
Meles, in a speech to parliament, said his first priority was to avoid conflict with the Islamists, but "we can't simply close our eyes or look the other way." The government "has completed this preparation," he added.
Meles did not specify what preparations his country has made. He acknowledges sending "military advisers" to Somalia, although he has denied widespread witness reports that Ethiopian troops are in the country.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a dictator and then turned on each other. The current administration was formed with the help of the U.N. two years ago.
The Islamic Courts, meanwhile, have steadily gained ground since taking over Mogadishu in June and now control much of southern Somalia. The United States has accused the Islamic group of sheltering suspects in the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Heightening tensions in Somalia have raised fears of an all-out war could engulf the wider region.
Experts have warned the country has become a proxy battleground for Ethiopia and its longtime rival, Eritrea. Eritrea, which supports the Islamic militia, broke away from Ethiopia in a 1961-1991 civil war and fought a border war with its rival in 1998-2000.
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