Somali rebels claimed to have captured a frontline position from Ethiopian-backed government forces yesterday as the embattled Somali prime minister warned that foreign “terrorists” had joined the ranks of the rebel forces. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said 4,000 “foreign fighters” had taken advantage of the conflict to infiltrate the country, which has been lawless since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. “Four thousand foreign fighters have participated in recent fighting around Dinsoor district and some of them have been killed,” Gedi told a press conference in Baidoa, about 250 km northwest of the capital Mogadishu. “This shows how terrorists are gaining ground in Somalia, so we are calling the international community to be aware of (what is happening in) Somalia,” he added.
Rebels meanwhile renewed calls for Muslims around the world to offer support for the “holy war”, and claimed to have captured a key frontline position at Idale, some 60 km south of the government headquarters in Baidoa. “Our fighters have taken control of Idale and are heading to other parts where Tigray (Ethiopian) invaders are now based,” rebel movement information chief Abdurahim Ali Muddey said. “By the will of Allah, we will liberate our people and country from the Ethiopian invaders,” he said.
Information Minister Ali Jama did not confirm the seizure, but said “fighting is raging in Idale.” Witnesses said the rivals were shelling each other with mortars, rockets and machine-gun fire, causing heavy casualties.
With no sign of let-up in the fighting, the rebel leadership called on all Muslims around the world to join in the clashes that threaten to engulf the entire Horn of Africa region. “This country is open for the Islamic fighters all over the world to join the holy war,” said rebels’ security chief Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad Indo’adhe. “Grave results will be witnessed if the international community maintains ignoring deteriorating situation in Somalia,” said Indo’adhe, whose movement has been accused of ties with Al Qaeda.
The fresh violence drew
Fighting erupted early Wednesday, hours after the expiry of a rebel-imposed ultimatum for Ethiopia to withdraw the thousands of troops the Islamists say Addis Ababa has deployed in the country. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the fighting had left “dozens” dead. For its part, the government says its Ethiopian-backed forces have killed more than 500 rebel fighters since Wednesday, while the rebels spoke of slaying at least 70 enemy combatants.
Muddey said rebel forces were pushing back the Ethiopian-backed troops. “This war is between Somalia and Tigray invaders. The forces have been pressed and they are losing in the battlefields,” he added. “The invaders have been repelled, we have a lot of their bodies here and are going to show the media, we have their ID cards, pictures with their wives, and equipment,” he said.
The fighting on twin fronts has forced thousands of residents to flee. “People are really scared because both sides are using heavy artillery shells and other weapons,” Haji Hassan Dhubow, a resident of Goof Gaduud village southwest of Baidoa, said.