Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia
Somalia's government has sent hundreds of troops backed by Ethiopian soldiers to recapture a strategic southern town seized by the country's powerful Islamic movement, military officials and witnesses said Sunday, as dozens of families began fleeing the area.
The Islamic militia, which has seized the capital and most of the country's south since June, declared itself in control of the southern town of Dinsor on Saturday, saying it moved into the area without encountering resistance or firing a shot. With the seizure of the town, the Islamic Courts Union has now effectively surrounded the weak, transitional government in its fortified base in Baidoa, the only town it controls.
Fears were mounting that a battle for Dinsor, about 75 miles southwest of Baidoa, could be the spark that ignites a war in Somalia. The town controls a vital bridge linking Baidoa with southern Somalia and the key port of Kismayo.
"The Courts' provocative and unjustified act of aggression in the region must be faced with force," warned the government's justice minister, Sheik Aden Nour Mohamed.
Some 600 government troops were deployed late Saturday in pickup trucks mounted with machine guns to drive the Islamic group out of the town, said a senior military official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Another official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation said two Ethiopian battalions were in support.
The Islamic movement's spokesman, Sheik Abdirahim Ali Mudey, promised that any government assault would be met with resistance. Witnesses said there were about 200 Islamic fighters with dozens of armed trucks preparing defensive positions in the town.
"Since the town is now under the control of the Islamic courts with the willingness of the local people, any attack waged against it would meet a fierce battle," Mudey said.
One shopkeeper, Mo'alim Isgow Ahmed, said at least half the town's residents have fled.
"We left Dinsor to save our lives," said Mad Ali Gab, who arrived in Baidoa by car. "They are preparing for war, so we cannot wait for the fighting to begin."
Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation, fears the emergence of a neighboring Islamic state and has acknowledged sending military advisers to help the Somali government.
A confidential U.N. report recently obtained by The Associated Press said there were up to 8,000 Ethiopian troops in the country supporting the government. Last week, Ethiopia's parliament authorized military action if attacked by the Islamic movement, which has declared holy war on Ethiopia over its troop incursions.
The U.N. report said Ethiopia's regional rival, Eritrea, had 2,000 troops in the country.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another. The transitional government was formed with the help of the U.N. two years ago, but has struggled to assert its authority.
The U.S. circulated a draft U.N. resolution late Friday that would authorize the deployment of a regional military force to protect the fragile government. The troops would likely come from a seven-nation East African group, but would not include Somalia's neighbors, like Ethiopia.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Friday he expects Security Council experts to discuss the draft on Monday.
Associated Press