Ethiopian troops open third front in Somalia

A CONVOY of Ethiopian troops entered Somalia yesterday, witnesses said, in a possible attempt to open a third front against al-Qaeda-linked Somali insurgents.

The incursion into the central town of Guriel appears to be the largest movement of Ethiopian troops into Somalia since an invasion nearly five years ago.

Al-Shabaab insurgents are already fighting an African Union force in the Somali capital and Kenyan troops in the south, where al-Shabaab said it attacked a Kenyan warship yesterday.

The arrival of the Ethiopians would stretch al-Shabaab further, but could also hand it a propaganda victory if the insurgents are able to capitalise on the memories of Ethiopia’s previous unpopular invasion.

The Ethiopians met members of Somalia’s Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama militia in Guriel yesterday, then moved into an army base in the south of the city, said Sheik Abdulle Abdi. He belongs to the militia, which is allied to the weak UN-backed Somali government and widely considered to be backed by Ethiopia.

Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama supports traditional Sufi Islam and opposes the amputations and stonings carried out by al-Shabaab.

However, Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti denied troops have crossed the border into Somalia. “That is not true,” he said of the claims.

But Ali Husein, a resident of Guriel, said he saw 21 vehicles carrying uniformed Ethiopian troops. “They waved at people then went to the south part of the town,” he said. Another resident, Shamso Hamsi, also said he saw men in Ethiopian uniforms.

Ethiopia previously sent troops into Somalia in 2006 to defeat the forerunner of al-Shabaab. But residents complained that the Ethiopians killed civilians.