Ethiopia starts Somalia pull-out

Ethiopia starts Somalia pull-out

Ethiopia's involvement is unpopular in Somalia

Some 200 Ethiopian troops have been seen leaving the Somali capital, four weeks after they crossed the border to help the government defeat Islamists.

"Starting today we will withdraw our forces from Mogadishu," Ethiopia General Suem Hagoss said at a ceremony where warlords surrendered their arms.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has told the BBC the withdrawal would take place in three stages.

The African Union is trying to set up a peacekeeping force to replace Ethiopia.

But so far, only Uganda and Malawi have publicly said they would send troops to Somalia.

POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPERS Nine battalions proposed - up to 9,000 troops: Uganda: 1,500 troops offered, subject to parliamentary approval Malawi: Up to 1,000 troops offered Tanzania: Considering Nigeria: Considering Rwanda: Considering South Africa: Considering but forces stretched Profile: Sheikh Ahmed

The BBC's Mohammed Olad in Mogadishu says 200 Ethiopian troops were seen moving out of the airport with armoured vehicles.

General Hagoss said they were reducing the number of forces in the country, but was not specific on how many soldiers will be moving out before AU peacekeepers are deployed.

"The heroic army of Ethiopia supported the transitional government to restore normality to the country after 16 years of violence," Somali deputy Prime Minister Hussein Mohamed Aidid told the AFP news agency.

"I thank the people and the government of Ethiopia on behalf of my government."

However, Ethiopia's intervention to help the government oust Islamists who had taken control of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia was unpopular with many Somalis.

The two countries have fought several border wars in the past.

Islamist talks

In neighbouring Kenya, the authorities have confirmed that one of the Islamist leaders is in their custody.

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed surrendered at the weekend and is under police guard in a top Nairobi hotel.

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed surrendered at the weekend

He is the most senior Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) official whose whereabouts are known after they were ousted.

The US backed the drive against the UIC but has denied being involved in the questioning of Mr Ahmed.

But US ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, who also covers Somalia is to speak to him this week, possibly on Tuesday, embassy spokesperson Jennifer Barnes told AFP.

"The ambassador will urge [Mr Ahmed] to counsel his supporters not to carry out violence and to support the development of an inclusive government," she said.

Mr Ranneberger has previously urged Somalia's president to try to include moderate Islamists, such as Mr Ahmed, in his government.

However, President Abdullahi Yusuf and other officials have publicly rejected such suggestions, accusing the UIC of having links to al-Qaeda.

UIC leaders have always denied such suggestions.

Meanwhile, at a meeting in Brussels, European Union foreign ministers said they were ready to offer financial support to the proposed peacekeeping force.

The ministers said a sustainable solution to the crisis could be reached, but that there were concerns about the reconciliation of the disparate Somali factions.

Two injured in Marsabit bandit attack

Story by MUCHEMI WACHIRA Publication Date: 1/19/2007

A homeguard and a herder were seriously injured yesterday when a group of bandits attacked them in Marsabit District. Halkano Huka and Wario Boru were immediately admitted to Marsabit district hospital with bullet wounds, following the dawn raid on Origir Village, 15 kilometres away from Marsabit Town. Mr Huka was shot in the left side of his hip while Mr Boru was shot in his right thigh. “I was in my boma (livestock shed) when I saw about 200 bandits coming. They were armed with AK-47 rifles. I fled for my life but they managed to shoot me,” Mr Huka said from his hospital bed. Later repulsed The two victims were later transferred to Nairobi. They arrived at the Wilson airport at 7.30pm and were received by the Red Cross rescue workers in two ambulances. They were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital. Doctors at the hospital said their condition was stable and they were out of danger. Mr Huka said he also had his gun but could not use it since the bandits attacked abruptly. He explained that the bandits were later repulsed by a group of homeguards before they could take away livestock. “They re-grouped and started exchanging fire with them,” Mr Huka said. Renewed fighting Yesterday, Marsabit area police boss Francis Sang and his team spent most part of the day hunting for the attackers. Tension was high in Marsabit Town yesterday as people saw the attack as renewed fighting between two rival communities. Fighting between the two communities had been going on for the last two years. It subsided last year after four MPs from the area died in a plane crash as they flew to the district to discuss modalities of ending the conflict. Since the dead MPs were replaced in a by-election in July last year, peace had prevailed in the district until yesterday. According to Saku MP, Mr Hussein Sasura, 10 people from the neighbouring North Horr constituency, who had attacked a Manyatta on Wednesday evening, were repulsed before regrouping and staging yesterday’s attack. This was the third attack in the past two months.

Oromo refugees in Somalia made an impassioned plea for help

Abdi Galgalo

January 17, 2007

International Oromo Youth Association (I.O.Y.A) reacts to Oromo refugees impassioned plea for help.

In response to an impassioned plea from Oromo refugees suffering in Somalia, the International Oromo Youth Association (IOYA) appeals to the United States, UNHCR, Somalia’s Transitional Government, and the people and States of the Horn of Africa to help stop the increasing cold-blooded killing, detention and kidnapping of Oromo refugees by the Ethiopian and Somali governments’ militia.

The ongoing Ethiopia-led military operation in Somalia is being widely covered by many international media. Unbeknownst to the world, however, is the fact that Ethiopia’s parliamentary resolution that authorized military intervention in Somalia also contains articles that authorized actions against supporters and members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

During one of the parliamentary sessions prior to this resolution on Somalia, Prime Minster Meles Zenawi, who routinely defines and redefines laws on his own accord, had stated that “being a member, supporter, or sympathizer of OLF is punishable by the law of the country”. Many Oromos and other people in Ethiopia believed, and rightly so, that this is an endorsement of ethnic cleansing against the Oromo people. Thus, the indiscriminate detention and killing of Oromo citizens in Somalia by Ethiopian forces appears to be in line with the stated missions of the Ethiopian regime.

The Oromo youth call such acts by Ethiopian militia and its Somali allies as “barbaric and inhumane” and appeal that the international community has a moral responsibility to stop these acts of ethnic cleansing that is directed at the Oromo people.

=================================

OLF statement on Oromo refugees in the Horn of Africa

16 January 2007

  The drama unfolding itself in the Horn of Africa
should be shocking for all its inhabitants for it
brings to memory the commotions of the 19th century
colonial wars. Now as then, a power with modern
superior war machines and green light from different
quarters for different ends have over run them all
reaching the Indian Ocean unabated.    

  Around fifteen years ago the present Ethiopian
conquistador re-conquered the Ethiopian empire with
collaboration of prisoners of war that it organized
into surrogate groups suffixed People’s Democratic
Organization (PDO). That is the model it knows and
that is what it is going to awash the Somali people
with. 

     Ethiopia is the poorest country in the world.
AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are wiping out its
population. Let alone fuel for war plane, tanks and
bombs that cross the boarder it did not afford medicine
against these diseases and is going around begging
the world to do its duties for it. Over and above this,
its human right abuses are beyond imagination. The
oppression within the Ethiopian empire had reached
a stage where it is no more bearable without consequences.

   All peace loving international human right organizations,
governments and individuals are airing their concern
over the atrocities the Ethiopian regime daily commits.
It is this same regime that has now crossed its borders
diverting relief funds to a war that has no moral or legal
basis.

   Many people had fled their beloved country at different
times under different Ethiopian regimes and lived in
neighboring countries as refugees. One of these neighboring
countries where many refuge seekers got shelter was Somalia.
Among these are a substantial number of Oromo nationals who
fled to Somalia at different times since the 1960s. Their
tormentors have now followed them to this country where
they had lived with relative calm. The pretext used by
the regime is helping the Transitional Federal Government
in Somalia but the truth is diverting internal and external
attention from the atrocities it has been committing domestically.
By destabilizing the region it is intending to stay in power
for some more years. It is a terrorist regime that is citing
anti-terrorist manifesto for its own purpose. 

   Now it is being reported that the Ethiopian regime’s
security forces are arresting, murdering and maiming
Oromo refugees at will under a situation where their
protectors could not save themselves let alone 

giving these Oromo nationals a refuge. They had run away
living behind their loved ones and their beloved country
hoping that the world would come to its senses and one
day come to their help. It is unfortunate that no one is
coming to their rescue. They could also run no more.
In front of them is the Indian Ocean and on their heels
are enemy war planes, tanks, artillery and infantry.
Their only chance is perishing away from the eyes of the world. 

  We are confident, however, that even during this trying
period the Somali people would not give them up easily.
They are the only ones, who could salvage what ever is
left from onslaught. Here, we do not want to pass
without expressing our sympathies to the farmers and
herdsmen of Juba valley that are being punished for
a conflict they know nothing about. We hope the
international community would rally to their rescue
and bring out the implications to light.

  The tyrannical government of Ethiopian is a member
of the UN and an ally of the US. We believe these
two bodies can hold it accountable for the crimes it
is committing against humanity in general and Oromo
refugees in particular. With this understanding we
appeal to the UN and US Government and all human right
Organizations and the international Red Cross to pay
attention to the wellbeing of Oromo refugees in 
Somalia in particular and the Horn of Africa in general. 

  Finally, we would like to urge Oromo nationals, Oromo
communities around the world, Oromo humanitarian
organizations and all peace loving friends of Oromo
to coordinate a humanitarian relief support for Oromo
refugees in Somalia, In particular, bringing the
plight of Oromo refugees to the attention of the
wider world is the duty of that Oromo Diaspora. They
are suffering only for being Oromo.  The Oromo like
all people of the world deserve a peaceful life and
respect for their human rights. 

  Oromia shall be free!

  Oromo Liberation Front

US air raids miss terror suspects

By XINHUA & AGENCIES

The US air strikes in Somalia failed to kill any of the three al-Qaeda suspects they had targeted, a top US official revealed yesterday.

The three were wanted in connection with the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es salaam and a 2002 attack on Israeli targets in Kikambala, Mombasa.

Somali officials had earlier reported that one of the men had been killed.

The US accused Somalia’s routed Islamist group of harbouring the three - charges they denied. The air strikes have been strongly criticised.

The US official, who refused to be named, however said that Somalis with close ties to al-Qaeda had been killed.

Earlier, US ambassador to Kenya and Somalia Michael Ranneberger told the BBC that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed had not been killed, contradicting Wednesday’s reports.

Ambassador Michael Ranneberger also strongly denied reports that a number of civilians had died in the attack.

Washington has dismissed criticism of its first overt military action in Somalia since 1994, saying it was necessary to defend the US and the international community from further al-Qaeda attacks.

Kenyan intelligence sources said on Wednesday that Mr Mohammed’s wife and the wife of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, also wanted by the FBI for an attack in East Africa in 2002, had been arrested in Kenya after fleeing the coastal Somali town of Ras Kamboni.

The US government is offering a $5 million reward for the capture of Mr Mohammed.

The Islamists took control of much of southern Somalia last year before being routed by Ethiopian and Somali government forces in recent weeks.

Since taking control of the capital, Mogadishu, media reports say security forces have arrested about 40 Ethiopians of Oromo origin, killing one of them. Another Oromo person has been killed in Jowhar in a similar round-up.

Oromo refugees have been living in the country for the last 14 years after Oromo rebels took up arms against the Addis Ababa government.

A local Somali MP said 27 civilians had died in recent air strikes near Afmadow.

But Mr Ranneberger denied this.

“It’s been troubling to see these reports about bombing and all these activities killing civilians, I can tell you categorically that no civilians were killed or injured as a result of that action,” he said.

Reports suggest Ethiopian MiG fighters and helicopter gunships seen in the city of Kismayo may be involved.

On Wednesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said several terror suspects had been either killed or captured in the strikes.

He said those killed “may have involved very senior Islamist court leaders”.

100 Somalis killed in US, Ethiopian air strikes

UNSC has no questions on Somalia raid

MOGADISHU: Somali clan elders and residents of southern Somalia said Thursday that about 100 civilians were killed this week in US and Ethiopian air strikes on suspected Al Qaeda targets in the region.

There was no way to independently confirm the toll, and it was unclear if the sources were referring to the same areas hit by at least one US air raid on Monday, and others believed to have been launched by Ethiopian helicopters. Sheikh Abdullahi Ali Malabon, an elder in the Afmadow area, one of several said 100 bodies had been counted.

“We have sent a team to assess the casualties there and they have confirmed more than 100 people killed,” he told AFP by phone from the remote area. “Many others were wounded but we don’t have an exact number.”

Closer to the Kenyan border, in between the villages of Afmadow and Dhobley, residents and elders also spoke of at least 100 civilian deaths but stressed they had only yet accounted for 29 bodies, some burned beyond recognition.

No questions: The 15-nation Security Council raised no questions or objections on Wednesday after a US diplomat briefed the UN body on an air strike by Washington against an Al Qaeda target in Somalia.

“There was no discussion of this particular issue and I have no comment on that,” Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the council president for January, told reporters after a closed-door meeting on Somalia.

“Nobody. No reference, except the United States itself,” said Chinese Deputy UN Ambassador Liu Zhenmin. US envoy Jackie Sanders said she confirmed during the session that the strike on Monday had targeted “a high-level Al Qaeda leader.” agencies

Life sentence for ex-Ethiopian dictator

11 January - An Ethiopian court finally delivered a verdict on the 12-year trial of the country's former dictator, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. Having found him guilty of genocide charges, the exiled dictator, who was tried in absentia, has been given a life sentence. He thus avoided an expected death penalty.

Ethiopia's former Marxist leader was also found guilty of illegal imprisonment and abuse of power. Since he was overthrown, Mr Mengistu had been living in Zimbabwe, whose government still rejects to extradite him from his comfortable exile, despite appeals to do so.

The judgment, delivered in the capital Addis Ababa, was a complete departure from the earlier expectation of people, including prosecutors and relatives of the victims of Mengistu's killing spree, who called for death penalty to be slammed on the former Prime Minister and co-defendants.

But the three-man judge ruled that they must temper justice with mercy, which was the reason why the defendants did not get the death penalty. Also, Ethiopia has avoided executions for many years, slowly aiming at abolishing the capital punishment.

"Considering the age of the accused... and the state of their health... the court has rejected the prosecution's call for the death penalty and passed life imprisonment," the court heard.

Outside the court, members of the victims' committee however argued that the 70-year-old Mr Mengistu deserved a death penalty. They vowed to appeal against the verdict.

Besides, the Chief Prosecutor, Yosef Kiros, also said the judgement would be appealed.

During the trial, judges combed through 8,000 pages of testimonies of hundreds of witnesses. Ex-dictator Mengistu was accused of killing thousands of Ethiopians during his "Operation Red Terror".

Mr Mengistu, a lowest ranking soldier, came to power after toppling Emperor Haile Selassie in a bloody coup in 1974.

Since his regime was overthrown by rebels loyal to current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 1991, Mr Mengistu has been living in exile in Zimbabwe, whose leader accorded him with a permanent refugee status and denied requests to extradite him for prosecution.

Zimbabwe President Mugabe said ex-dictator Mengistu would risk deportation only if he makes political comments to the media. The Zimbabwean government holds that Mr Mengistu paid extraordinary services to its black majority's fight against the white supremacist regime of Ian Smith in the 1970s, despite its international obligations to extradite a genocide-convicted person.

During the Ethiopian trial, ex-President Mengistu's Marxist regime was also accused of killing innocent people in 1977 and 1978 under the "Red Terror" campaign. During this brutal campaign, his government arrested its suspected opponents, executed them and threw their bodies into the streets.

Mr Mengitsu - who has been called "the Stalin of Africa" - further was accused of killing his predecessor, Emperor Halie Selassie by strangling. He was said to have buried the lifeless body of Emperor Selassie in a latrine in his palace.

According to charges by the prosecutors, the former revolutionary officials during the coup also killed more than 1,000 people, which included the execution of 60 ministers, top officials and members of the royal family by firing squad.

Ethiopia reportedly experienced hell as soon as the former soldier forced Emperor Halie Selassie from power in 1974. This followed war, brutality and famine in Ethiopia, where the revolutionary government forced peasants into collectivisation, causing a dramatic drop in productivity and an extreme famine.

It was reported that the Mengistu government asked families to pay for the bullets that killed their members when they went to the health facilities to collect bodies of political opponents.

US envoy rules out military base in Somalia

The United States yesterday denied claims that it planned to set up a military base in Somalia after getting rid of “terrorists.” The US ambassador to Kenya, Mr Michael Rannerberger, maintained that Washington’s long term interest was to ensure that stability was restored in the war-torn country. The envoy also denied media reports that scores of Somali civilians had been killed in air raids by the US military operating from the Somali coast, on the Indian Ocean. Mr Rannerberger insisted that there were no civilian casualties in early this week’s air strike in the Horn of African country by US forces pursuing senior al Queda suspect Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, accused of being behind the 1998 terrorist attacks on the Nairobi and Dar es Salaam US embassies. The envoy said they believed that Mr Mohammed was killed in the strike, but could not give further details. He maintained that their military operation was specifically to eliminate a Mr Mohammed. Asked about his country’s military strategy in the Horn of Africa, Mr Rannerberger said the US had no troops on the ground and had no plans to set up a military base in that country. He was addressing reporters at the US embassy. He said the US was working closely with Kenya, Ethiopia and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to restore stability in the Horn of Africa country. The envoy called on the Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and his government to embrace dialogue with all peace-loving parties in the country. The Ethiopian forces have been in the country since December 24 to drive away the Islamic Courts Union leaders and their forces. Mr Rannerberger denied press reports that the US was planning to occupy Somalia. “We have pledged to give Somalia $40 million in development and humanitarian aid. The Ugandan Government has pledged to donate troops for peace-keeping. This is a positive effort,” Mr Rannerberger said. On the controversial arrest of some Somali MPs by the Kenyan authorities for opposing the invasion of their country by the Ethiopian forces, Mr Rannerberger said he was optimistic that the “misunderstanding” would be resolved amicably. Meanwhile, The Release Political Prisoners (RPP) has condemned the mass attacks and killings of Somali people by the American military. “The African countries should not tolerate these unsubstantiated attacks and claims that America is destroying and eradicating all the al Qaeda networks,” the group said in a statement. The Government yesterday played down reports that Kenyans were among those killed in the US attack in Somalia. Dr Alfred Mutua, the Government spokesman, said: “We do not have any reports of people being killed in Somalia. We are not aware of any Kenyans being killed there.”

Somali, Ethiopian troops intervene to stop clan fighting

KISMAYO, Somalia Jan 9 (Garowe Online) - In a sign of things to come, Ethiopian troops were dispatched alongside Somali forces to the town of Beerhaano in southern Somalia to intervene between warring clan militias.

The clan militias had been fighting in the area in the past days, with clan leaders saying at least 5 people were killed.

The interim Somali government had previously appealed for the clan militias to stop the fighting, and Col. Barre “Hirale” Adan Shire, the government’s defense chief, held inconclusive talks with clan elders in Kismayo.

“The government deployed troops to the area to halt the fighting,” one military official who declined to be named told Garowe Online from Kismayo.

There was no fighting reported from the Beerhaano area on Tuesday, a sign that government and Ethiopian forces had taken command.

Garowe Online News

Seven Oromo Liberation Front fighters held in Garissa

Seven Oromo Liberation Front fighters yesterday surrendered in Garissa District after crossing from Somalia as security forces continued to patrol the border.

This brings the number of suspected foreign fighters being held in North Eastern province to 23.

The district police chief, Mr Johnstone Limo, said two of the fighters surrendered at the Liboi border, 20 km from the Somalia, while five others surrendered at Kulan Administration police camp.

Mr Limo added that the unarmed men looked tired after walking for three days to the border.

He said it was “baffling how the rebels managed to come through the heavily fortified border without being detected or intercepted by the Kenyan military, which is patrolling the border stretching more than 2,000 kilometers from the province to the Indian Ocean.

Combatants

The police boss said the fighters claimed they were in Somalia for the last two months but did not give reasons.

He said: “We believe they were combatants fighting alongside the routed Islamic Courts militia, and who are now escaping.”

Mr Limo added that a senior Administration policeman, Mr Omar Shurie, who is leading AP officers deployed at the border, is escorting those who surrender to Garissa divisional headquarters, where eight other Islamists fighters are being held.

The police chief said the fighters feared being captured by Ethiopian troops and “opted to hand themselves to Kenyan authorities to be given a safe passage to a third country.”

OLF is a rebel outfit active in the Ethiopian South West region of Oromia. It is fighting for an autonomous status.

The surrender comes a day after the security forces held a meeting with Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and Ethiopian troops at Harhare, near Liboi, where Ethiopian war planes dropped bombs on Tuesday.

Mr Limo said it was agreed both conduct joint patrols to ensure such mishaps do not happen again.

The police chief said no vehicle will be allowed to enter Somali until the security situation improves.

Intense fighting

Also, trade at Dhobley town, which is between Liboi and the Somali, has suffered in the last two weeks following the border closure over insecurity.

A Kenyan businessman, Mr Abdiweli Abdirizak, told the Nation on phone that most traders have closed shop after they ran out of provisions, which are usually brought from the Kismayu, which has been the scene of intense fighting between TFG backed by Ethiopian troops and the islamists.

Mr Abdirizak said prices of basic commodities have shot up, adding, some shopkeepers were hoarding essential commodities so as to drive the prices high.

The businessman added that close to 1,500 Somali refugees are camping at no-man’s land after they were denied entry into Kenya.

He said they were living in squalid conditions without basic necessities. The businessman warned of a humanitarian crisis if the situation was not addressed. The blocking of the refugees has sparked a diplomatic spat between the Government and the UN refugees authorities.

Gunmen attack Ethiopian forces

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Gunmen attacked Ethiopian troops supporting the Somali government Sunday, witnesses said, in the second straight day of violence in a city struggling to emerge from more than a decade of chaos.

On guard: An Ethiopian soldier watches over a street in Mogadishu, Somalia. Patrols were stepped up Sunday in response to protests. - MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR / Associated Press

Farah Abdi Hussein, who witnessed the attack, said gunmen launched grenades at Ethiopians about 21/2 miles from the airport.

The unrest comes at a precarious time for Somalia's transitional administration, which is trying to assert control for the first time in a capital that has seen little more than chaos in the 15 years since clan warlords toppled a dictatorship and then turned on one another.

The government, backed by Ethiopia's military, drove out a radical Islamic militia last week. But many in predominantly Muslim Somalia resent the presence of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, which has a large Christian population and has fought two wars with Somalia.

On Saturday, hundreds of furious protesters took to the streets, burning tires and smashing car windows while denouncing the presence of Ethiopian forces and shouting defiance at the Somali government's call for disarming Mogadishu.

Two people died in Saturday's violence, including a 13-year-old boy.

On Sunday, a similar protest took place about 215 miles away in Belet Weyne, after Ethiopian troops there detained a Somali military commander who refused to hand over an Islamic militiaman, witnesses said. That protest also turned violent, killing a 20-year-old civilian, Abdi Nor Salah Gedi told The Associated Press by phone.

It was not clear who shot the man or the teenager killed Saturday.

Clan elders held emergency meetings Sunday, and hundreds of Somali troops patrolled Mogadishu.

Dahir Abdi Kulima, a chieftain of the Hawiye, the dominant clan of southern Somalia, said the government's reliance on Ethiopia is backfiring.

"Since the Ethiopians arrived, people are sleeping and waking with worry about what will happen next," Kulima said.

Dhaamsa Waggaa Haaraa Hayyu Duree Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo

ADDA BILISUMMAA OROMOO

  Dhaamsa Waggaa Haaraa Hayyu Duree Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo

  Maqaa koree Hojii Geggeesituu ABOtii, fi maqaa kiyyaan,
baga bara haaraa 2007 geessan jedha. Barri moofaan
yeroo seenu, caalaa wayyaan akka waliin dhufu hawwuunii fi
akka dhufus carraquun ilmoo namaa irraa kan eegamu.
barri dhufu kan dagaagina qabsoo 

itti arginu, kan aagaa, nagaa fi injifannoo akka
hawwii koo ibsa.

  Sochiin bilisummaa Oromoo gufuun itti
bara dabres akkuma baroota taranii qabsaawota ijoo
kaayyichatti cichaniin tikfamee bara haaraa kana
dhaqabeera. Gurmuun qabsawota bilisummaas guddataa 

qabsoon isaanis caalaa misaa of dura tarkaanfachuu
danda’e. Akkanaanis, balaa kaayyoo dhaabba
irratti agamame facisuudhaan, ittifufa kaayyoo
ganamaa mirkaneessuu danda’ameera. 

  Gama dhaaba keenya ABOn rakkina keessatti
dhalatee tureen dhaabichi bakka lamatti qoodamuun
beekama dha. Rakkina kanas karaa nagaa furmaata
murna kaayyoo ganama irraa ceheef carraa of qoree of
sirreessuu kennuuf jecha koreen Qaama Cehumsaa jedhama
ture dhaabbatee akka 

hojii dhaabichaa geggessaa ture ni yaadatama. Korichi
yeroof kan utubame waan tureef  dirqama yeroo isaa erga
fixate booda  jaatamee jira.  

  Korri ABO kan Amajjii bara 2006 taa’e koreen Qaama
Cehumsaa kun akka gadaa hojii isaa  raawate murteesse
ABOn hoggana dhaabbataa filatee  maqaa isaatiin akka
socho’ii ittifufu tasiseera. Gaaffii Oromoo waan ilaalunis,
motummaa gabroofataa irratti qabsoon tolfamu toora hallen akka 

ittifufu ajajee jira. Dabalees, hariiroo dhaabota gara
garaa waliin godhamu irrattis masaka kennuun xumurameera.
Tarkaanfin kun injifatnoo bara dabrsine keessaa tokko ture. 

  Murtii kora kanaan masakamuunis caasaan dhaabichaa
sirna haaryaa haala waliin deemu dirirfachuun sochiin
mirqansaan mul’achu dandaera. Hunda caalaa kaayyoo
ganamaa lakkisuun, bilisummaa Oromoo mirkanessuu
dhiifnaan mirga hanga ammaa sabni Oromoo qabsoon
argatehuu of duuba deebisuuf  

akka ta’e ummatni keenya kan  biyya keessaa fi alaas
akka hubatu tattaaffiin godhames firi qabeessa ture. 

  Karaa kaaniin harirron humnoota Oromoo bilisummaa
Oromoof dhaabbatan gidduutti mul’ates akkan
jajjabeessa ture. Humnootni bilisummaa Oromoo,
afanfaajjii dhaabni AFD ofiin jedhu, kan murni
ABO keessa bahe itti miseensoome mooraa Oromoo
keessatti uume qulqullessuuf ejjennaa tokko 

qabaatanii dura dhabbannon godhan afanfaajjii
ture ittisuu irratti gumacheera. Haalli kun
ittifufee, akeeka ifaa jalatti qabsoo waliin
qindeeffatnii gurmuu tokkoon akka waliin
socho’an bu’uura buseera.  

  Haala sochii ummata keenya yoo fudhanes
raoorroo fi midaan diinaan irratti raawwatamu
haa dabalu malee waldhaansoon mootummaa gita-bulchiinsa
Tigray irratti deemsisu caalatti jabaatee fi
bal’atee mul’ateera. 

Keessumaa bartootnii fi dargagotni hidhaa fi
ajjechaa diinaanf osoo hin jilbeenfatin
goleelee Oromiyaa hunda keessatti sochiin
godhan boonsa ture. Sochiileen ittifufaa
fi mul’atan kun qabsoon Oromoo sadarkaa
ummatatti jabaachaa fi humnaawaa deemuu 
kan mirkaneessu ture jechu dandeenya. 

  Akkuma qabsoon ummata keenya jabaachaa
dhufuun, mootummaan Wayyanee  yeroo kaiuu  
caalaa ummatan lagatamaa fi kophxawaa
dhufun yeroo calatti  mul’atera. Waanta’eefis,
sirna abbaa irrummaa isaa caalatti jabeessuun
hidhaa fi ajjechaan ummata keenya irraan gahu
daran ol kaase. Umatoota walitti busunis
walgidduutti akka dhiingi dhagalau godhe.
Golii keessaa kanaan qabsoo ummataa ittisuuf
tattaafatu irra dabrees didda keessaa ukkamsuuf
imaamata biyyoota ollaatti goolii busuu ittifufe.
Akkanaanis 

kuno biyya walaba taate Somaliya weraree
obolwan Somaliya rakkina isaani walii isaani
giddutti akka hin fixanne gufuu ta’ee nannicha
jeeqa jira.  

  Cuunfatti barri dabrsine qabsawota Oromoo
fi ummata Oromoofis yeroo falamaa jabaa fi
milkiilee nama jajjabeessu ture jechuu dandeenya.
Kun akka jirutti ta’ee dhugan irra taramu hin qabne
tokko haala kana gahatti 

dhimma itti baanee yeroo injifatnoo dhiheessuuf
sochiin gama jaarmayaatiin mata mataatti ta’e
gamtaan humnootni bilisummaa Oromoo godhaan
gahaa ta’e hin argamne. Humna dandeetti
qabsoon Oromoo qabu walitti qindeessanii qabsawanii
qabsosisuu irratti hir’ina ni ture. Kanuma waliin
dadaqinsi kaayyoo irratti murna garii biratti mul’ates
afanfaajii umuun qabsoon bilisummaa Oromoo dadhabatti
akka hergamu gochuu irratti gumachun 

ni jira.. 

  Hi’inoota kanneen injifatnee bara haaraa dhufu kana
mirga caalu gonfachuudhaaf  qabsawotni Oromoo dirqamni
nu eggatu guddaa dha. Dhaaba keenya ABO, har’a illee
kaayyoo kaleessa qabatee ka’eef amanamaa ta’ee qabsicha
kan ittfufu ta’uu caalaatti  hojiin of mirkaneessuu,
ummatni keenya caalatti jaarmyaan hammatamee qabsoo
ittifufaa ta’e akka godhu 

hojjetuun fardii. 

  Humnootni bilisummaa Oromiyaaf dhaabbatanis dirqamni
isaan eggatu guddaa dha. Akka jaarmayaa fi gamtaanis
dadhabbii qaban gamagamanii, haala 

itti gurmuun qabsawota bilisummaa jabaate hojiin itti
of mul’suu fi ummata keenya sochosuu danda’u itti mirkan’u
argamsiisuuf socho’u irra eegama. 

  Ummatni keenya alaa fi keessas olola ofuun sobamuun mirga
haaraa dhiifnaan isuma qabsoo fi wareegama hanga ammaan
argamehuu kan of duuba deebisuu fi hamilee dhaloota
dhufuu kan hubu ta’uu hubatee qabsoo bilisummaaf godhu
jabinaan baranas ittifufuun qaba.

  Mayyii irratti, haalli keessa jirru xaxaa ta’uu ni
hubatna. Haalli xaxaa fi rakkisaa dha jennee haalaaf
jilbeenfatu osoo hin taanee haala jiru jabinaa fi
qabsoon jijjiruuf qabsawu feesisa. Qabsoon keenyas
dheeraa fi ba’a bu’ii akka qabu beeknee karaa salphaa
fi qaxamura hin argamne eegu irra gurmuu keenya
jabeesinee muratnotan warraquu dha. Cimina jaarmaya,
qabsoo qindawaa fi ittifufaa, of irratti fi ummata
Oromoo irratti 

abdi qabachuu bu’uura taasifate magarsuun bara 2007
kan milkii fi injifatnoo taasisuuf haa kaanu. 

  Oromiyaan ni bilisomti

  Qabsoon ittifufa! Injifatnoon ni dhufa!

  Dhugaasa Bakakkoo

  H/D ABO 

  31 Mudde 2006

Somali troops 'enter Mogadishu'

Somali troops 'enter Mogadishu'

The speed of the government's advance has surprised observers

Government troops in Somalia have entered areas of Mogadishu, hours after Islamist forces abandoned the capital city, Somalia's prime minister says.

"We are in Mogadishu," Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi said. "We are co-ordinating our forces to take control of Mogadishu."

The transitional government's forces, backed by Ethiopian troops, reached the city's outskirts earlier on Thursday.

It is not clear whether the Ethiopians will remain outside Mogadishu.

Eyewitnesses say Somali troops were cheered by crowds, but some residents condemned the Ethiopian presence.

As the Union of Islamic Courts withdrew its fighters, Somalia's clan militias began reasserting their presence - raising fears of a return to the clan warfare which racked the city for years before the Islamists brought a measure of security.

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan, in the city, says clan militiamen seized key buildings - like the airport and old presidential palace.

Residents in the north of the city have reported cars and mobile phones being stolen. Rising insecurity has forced most businesses to stop trading, our correspondent says.

Prime Minister Gedi is in the township of Afgoye, 20km (12 miles) west of Mogadishu, where he was to meet elders from the capital.

HAVE YOUR SAY What the Ethiopian government doesn't understand is that it is making a continual enemy to Ethiopians at large Tsegaye Girma, Addis Ababa Send us your comments

Transitional government spokesperson Abdirahman Dinari told the BBC that the majority of the forces poised to retake Mogadishu were Somali, not Ethiopian.

He added: "I would like to assure all the Somali people that we cannot accommodate any warlord who wants to destabilise the country.

"The government is committed to restore law and order and to implement institutions. We want to restore peace, law and order."

Meanwhile, in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said: "We will act on the basis of the advice of the transitional government and in consultation with the elders of Mogadishu but at the moment we are not in Mogadishu, we are just outside.

He added: "Our mission in Somalia is very very limited... we are not there to reconstruct Somalia economically, politically or otherwise. We are there to remove the threat of the Islamic Courts militia on Somalia and Ethiopia."

Defiant

Islamic fighters have fled towards the port city of Kismayo, their last remaining stronghold, 300 miles (500km) to the south.

In parts of Mogadishu, life seemed to be going on as normal

A senior UIC official Omar Idris said the retreat was "not the end".

He told the BBC: "We know what happened in Iraq... I think this is very, very early to say that the Islamic Court forces were defeated."

Meanwhile, a UIC delegation has been in Nairobi, meeting Kenyan officials and Western diplomats.

At the weekend Ethiopia began a major offensive to support the weak government against the UIC - which previously held much of central and southern Somalia.

The conflict has killed hundreds of people. The head of the International Red Cross Somalia delegation said it was "extremely concerned about civilians caught up in the fighting".

The African Union has called for Ethiopian forces to leave Somalia.

However the UN Security Council has failed to agree on a statement calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces.

Hardline elements

The UIC has its roots in the north of Mogadishu.

Courts administering Islamic law restored order in a city bedevilled by anarchy since the overthrow of former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

The UIC assumed control of the whole capital in June, driving warlords out and rapidly extending their influence to much of southern Somalia - with the exception of Baidoa, the seat of the transitional Somali government.

That body, set up in 2004 after talks between Somali factions, has been unable to meet in the capital because of opposition first from warlords, then from the UIC.

Almost all Somalis are Muslim and after years of lawlessness, many were happy to have some kind of law and order under the UIC.

But some are wary of the hardline elements among the UIC and do not want to be cut off from the rest of the world.

The UIC have staged public executions and floggings of people they have found guilty of crimes such as murder and selling drugs.

UIC leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is accused by both Ethiopia and the US of having links to al-Qaeda - charges he denies.

African Union: Ethiopia should withdraw from Somali

By Cihan News Agency, Addis Ababa
Thursday, December 28, 2006
zaman.com

The African Union released a call for an immediate pull-out on the part of Ethiopian forces from Somali.

Former support from the African Union for Ethiopia in its efforts to enter Somali, a country stricken by violence of over the last week between the provisional government and the Union of Islamic Courts, is now replaced with a call from the same organization for Ethiopian forces to withdraw immediately.

A meeting of the Arab League Wednesday also called for the immediate removal of all foreign forces from Somali.

Ethiopian, Somali troops regain Jowhar

Transitional Federal Government soldiers patrol in the streets of Burhakaba in Somalia, Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006. Islamic fighters were in a tactical retreat Tuesday, a senior Islamic leader said, as government and Ethiopian troops advanced on three fronts in a decisive turnaround in the battle for control of Somalia. Somalia's internationally backed government called on the Council of Islamic Courts to surrender and promised them amnesty if they lay down their weapons and stop opposing the government, spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said from Baidoa, the seat of the government. (AP Photo)
Ethiopian, Somali troops regain Jowhar
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Attacking at dawn, Ethiopian and Somali government troops on Wednesday drove Islamic fighters out of the last major town on the road to Mogadishu, the Islamist-held capital.

Former warlord Mohammed Dheere, who controlled the town of Jowhar before it was captured by the Council of Islamic Courts in June, led the Somali government troops, said resident Abshir Ali Gabre.

"We will attack Mogadishu tomorrow, from two directions," Dheere told the crowd, although his statement appeared to overstep his authority. Dheere does not speak for the government or the Ethiopians.

Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari confirmed the capture of Jowhar and said his troops were heading toward Balad, an agricultural village about 18 miles from Mogadishu. Smaller than Jowhar, it is the last town before the capital.

Thousands of Ethiopian and Somali government troops were seen in tanks heading toward Balad, said Nadifo Ali Tifow, a resident in Qalimow, a village 25 miles from Balad.

Fighting could still be heard at a military camp south of Jowhar and in the village of Lego. An Islamic official said his troops were simply entering a new phase in their battle.

"Our snakes of defense were let loose, now they are ready to bite the enemy everywhere in Somalia," said Sheik Mohamoud Ibrahim Suley. He did not elaborate, but some Islamic leaders have threatened a guerrilla war including suicide bombings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.

Hundreds of people had fled Jowhar, anticipating major fighting, but others seemed resigned to it after suffering from drought and flooding over the last two years.

"We do not know where to escape, we are already suffering from floods, hunger and disease," Abdale Haji Ali said from Jowhar. "We are awaiting death."

Ethiopia sent fighter jets streaking deep into militia-held areas Sunday to help Somalia's U.N.-recognized government push back the Islamic militias. Ethiopia bombed the country's two main airports and helped government forces capture several villages.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Tuesday that Ethiopian forces may soon wrap up their offensive against the Islamic militias that until recent days controlled most of the southern part of the country.

Zenawi said he aims to severely damage the courts' military capabilities and allow both sides to return to peace talks on an even footing. He has said he would not send his troops into Mogadishu, which the Islamic movement has held since June.

A State Department spokesman in Washington signaled support Tuesday for Ethiopian military operations against Somalia, noting that Ethiopia has had "genuine security concerns" stemming from the rise of Islamist forces in its eastern neighbor.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the African Union Commission has called a meeting Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of the 53-nation AU, the Arab League, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a seven-nation East African group, to try to end the fighting and resume dialogue between Somalia's warring parties.

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday took no immediate action on a draft presidential statement circulated by Qatar calling for a cease-fire and withdrawal of foreign forces, specifying Ethiopian troops.

The United States and several other nations objected to singling out Ethiopia and the call for a truce, saying talks and a political agreement are needed for stability before foreign forces can leave. The council agreed to continue discussions Wednesday.

Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, pushing the country into anarchy.

Two years ago, the United Nations helped set up a central government for the arid, impoverished Horn of Africa nation. But until the past week, it had little influence outside of its seat in the city of Baidoa, about 140 northwest of Mogadishu.

The country was largely under the control of warlords until this past summer, when the Islamic militia movement pushed them aside.

One critical issue is whether the central government can win the support of Somalis. Many resent Ethiopia's intervention because the countries have fought two wars over their disputed border in the past 45 years.

Experts fear the conflict in Somalia could engulf the region. Islamic courts leaders have repeatedly said they want to incorporate ethnic Somalis living in eastern Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya and Djibouti into a Greater Somalia.

Any effort by the Somali government or Ethiopia to take the capital risks a disaster similar to the U.S. intervention in Somalia in 1992.

That U.N.-sponsored mission ended in 1993, after Somali militiamen shot down a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. Eighteen American servicemen were killed in the crash and vicious street fighting that preceded and followed, made famous in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

___

Associated Press writers Salad Duhul, Les Neuhaus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Chris Tomlinson in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

Ethiopian troops move on Somalia's capital

Government troops move on Mogadishu
Ethiopian troops supporting the forces of Somalia's transitional government are advancing towards the capital, Mogadishu, as the United Nations Security Council calls an emergency meeting on the conflict.
Full Article : aljazeera.net


The Horn of Africa teeters on the cusp of all-out war
Neighbours arethreatening to turn Somalia into a battleground for their old scores
"Analysts agreed it would not be an easy fight against Ethiopia's powerful army, and the UIC's [The Union of Islamic Courts] reported allies – Eritrea and Yemen – may be tempted to join the southern militia. Already, they have covertly supplied arms and training to the UIC, according to a UN report obtained by Associated Press.

Eritrea and the predominantly Christian Ethiopia fought a three-decade war of independence and since Eritrea became a country in 1993, the two have skirmished regularly across their border.

Many have warned that Somalia – which hasn't had a centralized government during the 15 years since President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991 – could become the battleground for neighbours looking to settle old scores."
Full Article : thestar.com


Analysis: U.S. may feed conflict in Somalia, experts say
America is seen as backing Ethiopian intervention, leading to calls for 'jihad.'
NAIROBI, Kenya -- As fighting has intensified between Somali Islamists and an Ethiopian intervention force, Western diplomats and experts warned that U.S. policy in the Horn of Africa -- intended to curb Islamic radicalism -- may not only be fueling this newest conflict, but also may be making it easier for al-Qaida to gain a foothold in the strategic region.
Full Article : sacbee.com


Somalia: All-Out War "Catastrophic" for Southern Region - Famine Watchdog
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has warned of potentially "catastrophic" effects of all-out war in Somalia. In an emergency alert issued on Friday as the conflict began to escalate, the analysis service highlighted the food security threat to southern Somalia, where 1.1 million people are already facing a humanitarian crisis while half a million are seriously affected by floods.
Full Article : allafrica.com


Analysis: Somalia's powerbrokers
Somalia has been without a recognised central government since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.

Recent attempts to establish a new authority, based in the capital Mogadishu, have had mixed results. And much power still lies with armed factions and warlords who are notorious for switching allegiance.
Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk


Ethiopia-Eritrea Proxy War in Somalia Risks Broader Regional Conflict, Warns New Council Report
December 14, 2006
Council on Foreign Relations
Conflict in the Horn of Africa is escalating rapidly as power struggles within Somalia are exacerbated by military support that both Ethiopia and Eritrea give to the opposing parties there. Ethiopia backs the weak interim government; Eritrea sponsors the Islamic militants fighting to overthrow it. Because the United States has accused Somalia of harboring al-Qaeda suspects, "the Ethiopian-Eritrean proxy conflict increases the opportunities for terrorist infiltration of the Horn and East Africa and for ignition of a larger regional conflict," warns a new Council Special Report.
Full Article : cfr.org

Ethiopian tanks roll in Somali battle's fourth day

By Hassan Yare

BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Ethiopian tanks rolled to the battle front on Friday as Somali Islamists and pro-government troops pounded each other with artillery and rockets in a fourth day of clashes starting to take the shape of a war.

Witnesses near the fighting on two fronts to the southwest and southeast of the government's encircled stronghold, Baidoa, said they heard the rumble of armor before dawn.

If the tanks engage in the battle it would raise the stakes in what is already the most sustained combat so far in a fight many fear could mushroom across the Horn of Africa.

The Western-backed but largely ineffective government and the Somali Islamic Courts Council (SICC) say they have killed hundreds of each other's troops in four days of fighting across the desolate, brushy flatlands around Baidoa.

Those figures could not be independently verified.

"I was awakened this morning by heavy sounds of tanks. I woke up and saw seven Ethiopian tanks heading toward Daynunay," Baidoa resident Abdullahi Ali told Reuters.

Farmer Mohamed Adan said he saw the tanks moving outside Baidoa: "There were nearly 20. I understand some have been sent toward Daynunay while others have gone toward Idaale."

Daynunay is the government's forward military base about 20 km (12 miles) to the southeast and Addis Ababa has said it has military trainers -- but not combat troops -- there.

The other front, Idaale, is 70 km (44 miles) southwest of Baidoa, the only town the government controls.

DEADLINE PASSED

The battle began late on Tuesday, as an SICC deadline for Ethiopian troops to leave Somalia or face a holy war passed.

The SICC has taken control of most of southern Somalia by dint of its military might and imposition of strict sharia law.

Washington and its top counter-terrorism partner in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, say the SICC is led by an al Qaeda cell, which the military-religious movement denies.

The SICC says it has the popular support the government sorely lacks and has brought peace to a nation demolished by anarchy since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre's 1991 ouster.

Most of the latest combat has taken place in uninhabited areas on the front across which the two rivals, vying to install the first effective central rule in Somalia in nearly 16 years, have sat tensely for two months.

Witnesses have said Ethiopian soldiers are taking part in the battles, and have reported that an Ethiopian military helicopter was flying over Baidoa on Wednesday.

A government security source told Reuters the Ethiopians have 20 T-55 tanks and four attack helicopters in Baidoa.

It was not possible to confirm if the tanks were involved in the fighting. The Ethiopian government had no immediate comment.

Experts and diplomats say Eritrea is backing the SICC with weapons and up to 2,000 troops to frustrate its archenemy Ethiopia, but Asmara denies that. Experts say Ethiopia has between 15,000-20,000 troops in Somalia, which it denies.

(Additional reporting by Bryson Hull in Nairobi and Guled Mohamed in Mogadishu)

Somalia: Ethiopian Troops Enter Ballanballe as Another Number of Ethiopians Leave Hiran

Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu

Fresh Ethiopian troops along with number armored vehicles have occupied Ballanballe in Galgaudu province, central Somalia.

Witnesses said they saw 18 battlewagons and a large number of Ethiopian troops coming to Ballanballe to fortify Ethiopian troops that were already in the district.

The entry of Ethiopian troops in the country came a day after an Islamic Court dubbed Imamu Shafici was set up in Galgadud provincial district of Abudwaq. Abdirisak Mohammed Warsme Fiqi, the consultative leader of Imamu Shafici Islamic Court in Abudwaq, called on the people to be ready for a jihad war with Ethiopia and Ethiopian troops in the region.

Witnesses also said the new arrived Ethiopian troops were patrolling in and around Ballanballe, searching cars.

Ethiopian military maneuver was also reported in the Ethiopian Somali administered region of Ogaden.

Last week Islamic Courts headquartered in the Somali capital Mogadishu gave the Ethiopian troops seven days to withdraw its troops from Somalia or that it would face an Islamic jihad war. An ultimatum will last Tuesday (tomorrow).

Ethiopian troops that were inside Hiran province, central Somali, have reportedly gone back to Ethiopian border on Monday. The troops were accompanied by militias loyal to former defeated warlords Mohammed Dhaere who controlled Jawhar town, 90 km (55 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu and Dabageed who controlled Hiran province.

The Ethiopian military movement came as hours are left for Islamic Courts to decide whether they would launch a holy war on the Ethiopian troops in the country.

Diplomats fear that if a war broke out in Somalia, it would turn into a regional war. United Nations urges Somalia's vying parties to go to the negotiating table in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to reconcile over their differences.

Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991 when warlords ousted dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.

Islamist spokesman says they won't attack Ethiopian forces

On the eve of the deadline the Islamic group had set for Ethiopian troops to withdraw or face attack, the movement appeared to change tack.

A spokesman for Somalia's Islamic movement said Monday it would not attack Ethiopian forces supporting the government, and was open to new peace talks.

On the eve of the deadline the Islamic group had set for Ethiopian troops to withdraw or face attack, the movement appeared to change tack.

However, long term prospects for peace still look dim even as both sides come under mounting pressure from the UN and the European Union to pull back from war.

EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel is expected to travel Wednesday for talks in Baidoa, seat of the internationally recognized Somali administration, and the capital, Mogadishu, where the Islamic movement is based.

The Islamic movement's latest comments by spokesman Abdirahim Mudey contrast sharply with threats of a holy war made last week by senior leaders. The group, known as The Council of Islamic Courts, is made up of leaders who range from moderate to hard-line, with the influence any given faction wields changing often.

The seven day deadline "did not mean that we will attack the Ethiopians, but it was a chance for Ethiopians to start negotiations with us,'' Mudey said Monday.

About Oromo refugees in Yemen

Abdulhamid Ahmed roobaa@aol.com

I am writing to express my concern regarding Oromo Refugees who are suffering in Yemeni Jails. As you are aware, the Yemeni nation has been very supportive of Oromo refugees for the last 20 years. More importantly, the two nations have so many things in common: culture, intermarriage and trade. I happen to be a close friend of the former publisher of this newspaper Dr Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, may Allah bless his soul. Similarly, most Oromos have families and friends in Yemen. I would expect the larger expatriate Yemeni community who lived in Oromia and other parts of Ethiopia would voice their concern to the Yemeni authorities about Oromo refugees in Yemen. I would also request the current publisher of the most respected newspaper in Yemen, “The Yemen Times” to voice their protest about the mistreatment of Oromo refugees. Thank you for being the voice of the voiceless.