Islamic fighters ambush Ethiopian convoy and kill 20

11/30/2006

The Islamic fighters targeted the convoy with a remote-controlled bomb, blowing up one of the vehicles, 35 kilometers (20 miles) south west of Baidoa, the government's headquarters.

Islamic fighters ambushed an Ethiopian convoy close to a camp where the Ethiopians are training troops loyal to the weak transitional government, witnesses said Thursday.

The Islamic fighters targeted the convoy with a remote-controlled bomb, blowing up one of the vehicles, 35 kilometers (20 miles) south west of Baidoa, the government's headquarters. Islamic militia told The Associated Press around 20 Ethiopians were killed during the attack. The claim could not be independently verified. A Somali government official denied the attack took place.

Tensions are high in this Horn of Africa nation where the Islamic movement and the Ethiopian-backed transitional government are vying for control. Analysts fear a war could engulf the region.

Late Wednesday the U.N. Security Council condemned the "significant increase" in the flow of weapons to and through Somalia in violation of a 1992 arms embargo. The top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, warned the same day that al-Qaida militants are operating with "great comfort" in Somalia, providing training and assistance to a radical military element loyal to the Islamic group.

The United States is consulting council members on another resolution that would lift the arms embargo for a regional force to help promote dialogue between the transitional government and the Islamic group that has expanded its control across much of southern Somalia.

However the Islamic movement is fiercely opposed to foreign intervention. Meanwhile in Ethiopia the country's parliament authorized military action if attacked by the Islamic movement who have declared holy war on the country over its troop incursions.

Parliament backing

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told lawmakers the country had already suffered attacks on Ethiopian soil by insurgent groups working closely with bitter rival Eritrea and Islamic forces in Somalia.

The move came a week after Meles asked parliament for its backing. The full scope of the authorization and Ethiopia's interpretation of what constitutes an attack were not immediately clear. The latest attack on Ethiopian forces occurred late Tuesday as a convoy of six vehicles crossed the border into Somalia, heading for Baidoa, the only town the interim government controls.

"The Ethiopian convoys were targeted with a remote controlled bomb, then one of their vehicles exploded," local resident Abdullahi Gaafaa told the AP by telephone. He said both sides then opened fire on each other before the Islamic group melted away into the surrounding areas.

Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment. There have been heightened tensions in Somalia and fears that an all-out war could engulf the region. Ethiopia backs the transitional government, whose authority has been severely challenged by an Islamic movement that has taken over the capital and much of southern Somalia since June.

On Tuesday a top Islamic leader accused Ethiopia of shelling a town in central Somalia. On Nov. 19, witnesses said Islamic fighters ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy, killing six Ethiopian soldiers and wounding 20 others.

A confidential U.N. report obtained last month by the AP said 6,000-8,000 Ethiopian troops are in or near Somalia's border with Ethiopia, backing the interim government. Ethiopia says it just has a few hundred military trainers in the country. The report also said 2,000 troops from Eritrea are inside Somalia supporting the Islamic movement.

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another. The interim government was formed with the help of the United Nations two years ago, but exerts little control.