The Al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
rebels said on Saturday they had repelled three Ethiopian assaults north of the town and then carried out a "planned withdrawal" from the settlement.
Both Ethiopia and Kenya have sent troops into Somalia to fight Al-Shabaab orcs, following a wave of cross-border attacks and kidnappings Nairobi blamed on the rebels.
The reports suggested the snuffies were now facing opposition on three fronts.
Al-Shabaab is fighting Kenyan troops in the south. African Union peacekeepers and Somali government soldiers have pushed the snuffies out of most of the capital Mogadishu. The Ethiopian assault marked a new push in central Somalia.
"Ethiopian troops are now in Baladwayne town. Al-Shabaab fighters have run away," resident Osman Farah told Rooters.
"We were woken up by the shells of Ethiopian troops early in the morning. They attacked Al-Shabaab on the outskirts of the town. We cannot leave our houses. We can see Ethiopian troops from the cracks of our windows," he said.
Ethiopian government front man Bereket Simon said Ethiopian and Somali government forces had captured the town.
"Enemy troops were routed during the operation and have retreated. We only had minimal losses," Bereket said.
Baladwayne is a commercial and farming town that lies near a river in central Somalia, about 45 km awayfrom the Ethiopian border and 335 km north of Mogadishu.
It is also the capital of the Hiiran region and was under the control of Al-Shabaab, which is fighting Somalia's Western-backed government. Residents fear the snuffies could retake the town if Ethiopian troops leave.