Over 150 Oromo opposition officials detained in Ethiopia

Ethiopian police - 02/07/2010

Atleast 150 representatives and members of the opposition party Oromo People's Congress (OPC) have been arrested in Ethiopia in less than five months, according to OPC leader Dr. Merera Gudina, who is also the chairman of Medrek (Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum), the largest opposition coalition in the country.

Dr. Gudina told Jimma Times (JT) the abuses are spreading and the ruling party is trying to force the real opposition out of the upcoming May 2010 election.

"As things stand now, there is no way the coming elections are going to be free and fair" said the opposition leader, but his OPC party will still continue to push ahead to run under the Medrek ticket.

To unify the opposition for the 2010 election, main opposition forces created the Medrek/Forum coalition, which includes Arena Tigray for Democracy and Sovereignty (Arena), Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), formerly Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). In response, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) ruling party signed an election agreement with over 60 pro-government political parties to sideline the opposition. Since then, the security and state media have been accused of disrupting Medrek meetings and televising alleged divisions inside the opposition.

Despite their efforts, the opposition forces remain weak and underfunded. Dr. Gudina, who visited the Diaspora in North America last November, said he was not satisfied with the amount of support his party received from the passive Oromia Diaspora. His OPC party is mostly based in the Shewa regions of Oromia where over 6 million predominantly Orthodox Christian Oromos live. Compared to the support inside Oromia, Dr. Gudina said the Diaspora support was "very little," even though his OPC party needed their financial assistance for "survival." In July of 2009, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's EPRDF ruling party established a new regulation in public funding for political parties to further cripple the opposition financially. The change of the law forces opposition parties to return the public money they spent for election campaigning if they decide to boycott or withdraw from the election due to human rights abuses. OPC and other opposition groups of the Medrek coalition have demanded the release of dozens of their members, including political prisoner and UDJ chairwoman Judge Birtukan Mideksa.

“This last minute change on the bill was intentionally done so that all the parties, with the intimidation and severe harassment they may suffer, are forced to participate in elections just to keep the ruling party company," added UDJ representative MP Birru.

Many Ethiopians hope for a powersharing deal between Medrek and EPRDF, to end one-party control of the security and government institutions in Ethiopia. But analysts expect Meles Zenawi's ruling party to rigg the 2010 election and share parliament seats with government loyalists or with over 60 parastatal "opposition" parties created by the EPRDF ruling party. The last election in 2005 ended with atleast 200 protesters shot dead by EPRDF security forces after international observers concluded Meles lost the election.

http://jimmatimes.com/printFriendly.cfm?articleID=33197

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US Ambassador to pressure Meles on human rights

02/03/2010 -

Donald Booth, President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next US ambassador to Ethiopia
AFP

President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next US ambassador to Ethiopia pledged on Tuesday to press the government in Addis Ababa to improve human rights, free political prisoners and make upcoming elections fair.

Donald Booth said the United States had "complex interests" in Ethiopia, and that the two nations, while differing in tactics, saw largely eye-to-eye on the need to bring stability and prevent an Islamist takeover of Somalia.

"We need to try to work with Ethiopia across the board, preserving the cooperation where we share interests such as regional security," Booth, a former ambassador to Liberia and Zambia, said at his Senate confirmation hearing.

But he warned that Ethiopia's "limitations on political expression and economic activities as well as shortcomings in respect to basic human rights run counter to American principles and risk becoming the seeds of future instability."

Under questioning by Senator Russ Feingold, who heads the Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, Booth pledged to take up the case of prisoners such as Birtukan Mideksa, leader of the largest opposition party.

Ethiopia sentenced Birtukan to life in prison for treason after she alleged that the government rigged 2005 elections. She received a pardon two years later but the life term was re-imposed a month ago.

Booth said the US embassy in Addis Ababa has been seeking access to Birtukan, 36.

"I think we need to find a way to convince them (Ethiopian leaders) that it's in their own interest not to hold people simply because they hold opposing political views," Booth said.

Booth said he would urge Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government to ensure the fairness of elections due in May, including by allowing opposition candidates to run and have access to the media.

Booth also called for domestic and international observers to monitor the election.

The nominee promised Feingold also to look into allegations of human rights abuses in the southern Ogaden region, where Muslim, ethnic Somali rebels are waging an insurgency for independence.

"Clearly the Ogaden is an area that has created great instability and threats to the security of the Ethiopian state over time," he said.

"We need to work with the Ethiopians ... to try to figure out a way that they can not only protect their territorial integrity but also respect the human rights of all their citizens including the Ogadense," he said.
AFP

http://jimmatimes.com/printFriendly.cfm?articleID=33189

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USA (United States of Africa) is nonsense: AU chairman

Written by Africanews.com Monday, 08 February 2010 12:44

There is no basis to form a United States of Africa (USA) when there is no unity among the various governments on the continent, stated the newly elected Africa Union Chairman Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika.

He said it was "nonsense" to pursue that dream adding his predecessor Muammar Gaddafi pushed it too far.

“Why should we create one Africa when in our countries and our regional groupings we are not united? Libya is pushing these matters too much,” the Malawian president told the local press upon his arrival from the AU Summit in Ethiopia.

He added: “We all know why Gaddafi wants the formation of OAU now; it is because he wants to be the first leader. Some of us don’t like other things but we choose to be silent deliberately. We just look at other things when we know they are nonsense.”

Diplomatic row

Ahead of the Summit, a diplomatic row brewed over who was suitable to man the affairs of the AU. The Libyan leader’s backers, including their northern allies Tunisia, argue that the AU chairmanship faced by a US$ 1.3bn deficit for its programmes needs someone with demonstrable financial muscle like Gaddafi.

However, the Malawian President said the southern African country was qualified to lead the AU and that he was ready to take up the mantle. “The chairmanship of the African Union is rotational,” Mutharika told journalists before departing for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the summit at which he was earmarked to take over the chairmanship of the continental grouping from the Libyan leader, Gaddafi.

He said: “The Southern African region, through SADC (the Southern African Development Community), has elected Malawi and therefore we are looking forward to be nominated.”

West African giant Nigeria joined other countries to back the candidacy of Mutharika according to the Vanguard newspaper.

Pic: AU Chairman- Bingu wa Mutharika

Source: www.africanews.com

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Ethiopia law forces journalists to reveal sources

Sat Feb 6, 2010

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopia's new anti-terror law strips journalists of the right to protect the identity of their sources, a top official said in a statement carried Saturday by the national news agency ENA.

"The anti-terrorism law revoked the rights of journalists not to disclose their information sources when they report on terrorism," the agency quoted State Minister for Communication Shimeles Kemal as saying.

"The new law revoked this right taking into consideration the magnitude of disasters caused by terrorism," he added.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, only one other African country has jailed more journalists than Ethiopia and only last week it imprisoned a columnist for criticising the prime minister.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch voiced concern before the bill was passed last year that some of its provisions were targeted at the nation's media.

"A journalist interviewing an opposition politician or a supporter of an armed opposition group could be deemed to be 'encouraging' terrorism merely by publicising the views of the interviewee," it said.

The Ethiopian government describes as terrorism the rebellions it has been trying to stamp out for years in

the Oromo and Ogaden regions.

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

Ethiopia surpasses Kenya to become East Africa's Biggest Economy

Sunday, February 7, 2010
Huda Realestate Mexico Square planned development Skyscrapper City(Medeshi)

For years, reporters writing about Ethiopia's neighbor Kenya refer to it as the biggest economy in East Africa, now no more. Ethiopia has officially taken over Kenya to become East Africa's biggest economy.

According to the CIA World Fact Book, Ethiopia's GDP for the latest year available (2009) is estimated at $33.9 Billion ahead of Kenya's $30.2 Billion which until recently was East Africa's biggest economy, now that bragging right is Ethiopia's.

Ethiopia has enjoyed a double digit economy growth for the past couple of years and The Economist magazine predicts Ethiopia to be the fifth fastest growing economy in the world for 2010. The magazine has criticized the government that few people benefit from the economic growth. Despite the economic growth, Ethiopia still remains to be one of the poorest countries in the world based on GDP per capita and just this week Ethiopian government appealed for aid to feed 5.2 million people.

The good news is that Ethiopia's economy has expanded by more than five fold since the 90s, when Ethiopia's GDP was just $6.0 Billion, but with Ethiopia's population growth, Ethiopia has a long way to become a middle income country.

Ethiopia's GDP per Capita is one of the lowest in the world. Ethiopia has the 10th biggest economy in Africa with South Africa being Africa's economic powerhouse followed by Egypt and Nigeria.

Top 20 African economies sorted by their nominal gross domestic product 2009 GDP

1.South Africa
2.Egypt
3.Nigeria
4.Algeria
5.Morocco
6.Angola
7.Libya
8.Sudan
9.Tunisia
10.Ethiopia
11.Kenya
12.Côte d'Ivoire
13.Tanzania
14.Cameroon
15.Uganda
16.Ghana
17.Senegal
18.Zambia
19.Equatorial Guinea
20.Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nazret.

http://www.medeshi.com/2010/02/ethiopia-surpasses-kenya-to-become-east.html

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New Ethiopia dam tunnel collapses

Posted By emma On February 7, 2010

A water passage tunnel in a recently inaugurated hydropower dam in Ethiopia has reportedly collapsed, an NGO, International Rivers has said.

In a press statement copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the NGO said a critical water passage tunnel in the newly inaugurated Gilgel Gibe 2 hydropower project in Ethiopia collapsed.

About 10 days after the ceremony, “African Energy Intelligence” and the Italian public channel RAI 3 reported that, the project’s core component, a 26-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed, shutting down operations for an extended period. The repair could take months, the reports said.

The dam which is currently Ethiopia’s biggest power plant has a capacity of 420 megawatts and was built at a cost of 374 million euros. The project channels the water discharged from the Gilgel Gibe 1 Dam through a long tunnel and a steep drop directly to the valley of the Omo River.

The project, being built by Italian firm Salini, had already been delayed by more than two years, the statement said.

The NGO claims that the Gilgel Gibe contract was also awarded without a feasibility study. Adding that construction started – again in violation of Ethiopian law – without an environmental permit.

Italian law and international agreements require that development aid only fund infrastructure projects that are based on international tenders. Yet in violation of that law, and against the recommendation of its own evaluators, Italy’s Ministry of Development Cooperation awarded 220 million Euros in aid money for Salini’s contract on Gibe 2. The European Investment Bank contributed another 50 million Euros, and the Ethiopian government funded the remaining 104 million Euros for the project, it said.

According to the statement, the power project was supposed to be completed in December 2007, but shoddy planning took its toll. Poor geological studies overlooked sandy soils and other unexpected problems.

Tunnel-boring equipment got stuck in the mud, and engineers had to redesign the tunnel’s path. Usually contractors carry the risks of such cost overruns. Yet the dubiously negotiated contract for Gilgel Gibe 2 exempts Salini from geological risks, so the Ethiopian electricity consumers and taxpayers ended up with the bill.

This new accident falls under the contractual responsibilities of Salini, and the company must restore the tunnel and cover all extra costs, but it is possible that

part of these costs will again be transferred to Ethiopian taxpayers, the statement said.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2010/02/07/new-ethiopia-dam-tunnel-collapses/print/

http://publicinvestment.net/2010/02/ethiopia-land-of-tomorrow-part-2-of-2/

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

ETHIOPIA: Dam Critics Won’t Go Away

IPS
February 6, 2010

What will happen to the Omo River and the lake it feeds if the Gilgel Gibe III dam is completed?

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia is building a 240-metre high dam on the Omo River that is intended to end the country’s electricity shortage and supply power to neighbouring countries. Not everyone’s happy.

The Gilgel Gibe III dam will hold back 14.7 million cubic metres of water. Its 1,870 MW generating capacity will be a significant boost for the Ethiopian Electric Power Company (EEPCO) which has plans to extend electricity supply within the country and export power to other countries in East Africa.

A 1.7 billion dollar contract to build the dam has been awarded to Italian multinational Salini Costruttori SPA. But the project’s critics have assembled a damning dossier of problems with it.

Two environmental organisations, Friends of Lake Turkana and International Rivers, are challenging the ecological soundness of the project. They say it threatens biodiversity in the Omo River and Lake Turkana which it feeds. The basin has large populations of Nile crocodiles, hippopotamus, and over 40 different species of fish.

IR and FoLT say changes in the river’s flow will also put the livelihoods of up to 200,000 people who depend on the lake for fishing, herding and irrigation at risk.

The groups have raised questions over the quality of the environmental and social impact studies completed for the project.

Gilgel Gibe III’s opponents also point out that the contract to build the dam was not awarded through a competitive international tender; it was negotiated directly with Salini, in violation of Ethiopia’s procurement guidelines.

Procurement

EEPCO argues that both Ethiopian and international procurement guidelines allowed Gibe III’s contract to be reached without a tender process due to its size and huge financial requirements. EEPCO CEO Miheret Debebe says the project’s opponents are using false allegations to try to stop the project.

However Ken Ohashi, World Bank country director for Ethiopia and Sudan, confirmed that the omission of a competitive tender means the Bank cannot loan the Ethiopian government money for the project. This does not rule out World Bank involvement entirely.

“In a situation like this, there is a possibility for us, in line with our guidelines, to help mobilise financing from the private market to finance the project by providing a guarantee to those interested in financing it,” Ohashi told IPS.

“If decided, we will provide guarantee against certain types of risk of non-repayment to commercial financiers – basically ‘political’ rather than ‘commercial’ risk of repayment,” he said.

Construction on Gibe III is already more than a third complete, but more money will be needed. The Ethiopian government’s task of addressing concerns – environmental, social, technical and financial – in order to secure a World Bank credit guarantee has now been complicated by problems facing an earlier phase of the massive hydroelectric project.

A cautionary tale

Barely two weeks after it was formally opened on Jan. 14, the Gilgel Gibe II hydroelectric power station suffered a collapse in its main tunnel, forcing closure of the new facility while it is repaired.

Gibe II, also built by Salini, has – or had – a generating capacity of 420MW; it relied on water released from the Gilgel Gibe I dam channeled through a 26 kilometre tunnel into the Omo River valley. The terms for this project too were negotiated between the Ethiopian government and Salini without competitive bidding.

According to Italian World Bank watchdog group Campagna per la Riforma per la Banca Mondiale (CRBM), the 490 million euro contract for Gibe II (today equivalent to 670 million dollars) violated Italian and Ethiopian regulations. Italy’s Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) nonetheless approved the largest single aid credit it had ever granted.

This was against the advice of both Italy’s finance ministry and DGCS’s own internal evaluation unit. Reviewing that advice, CRBM lists the flaws: a no-bid contract, an inadequate feasibility study, the absence of funds for environmental mitigation, and an unrealistic projection for servicing the loan.

The European Investment Bank also loaned the project 50 million euros ($69 million at today’s exchange rate); according to the CRBM accepting Ethiopia’s argument that it faced an emergency electrical shortage in lieu of more complete preparation and procedure.

Construction ran into severe difficulties as the tunneling engineers encountered unexpected mud, sand and aquifers; the project was finally completed two years behind schedule, with the Ethiopian government – and taxpayers – picking up the cost overrun as the contract held Salini liable for any delays due to engineering failures, while these problems were due to an inadequate geological survey.

Returning to Gibe III

In 2009, a group of eight academics and consultants collaborating as the Africa Resources Working Group (ARWG) published a sharp critique of the studies done for Gibe III. The ARWG says that contrary to the findings of the environmental and social impact assessments provided by Salini and EEPCO, the downstream impacts of the dam will likely be devastating.

They predict radical reduction of water flowing into Lake Turkana; the loss of cultivation of seasonally-flooded land in the Omo River delta, and of riverine forest and woodland the length of the river, damaging biodiversity and livelihoods.

“Altogether, more than 200,000 indigenous peoples of the lowermost Omo Basin are dependent on riverside and delta recessional cultivation… This population would face massive economic losses, with widespread severe hunger, disease and loss of life occurring on a regional scale, if the Gibe III dam is completed.”

The authors reject the official studies’ claims that lake water levels are already dropping due to evaporation from uncontrolled flooding, or that using the dam to deliberately increase water flow in the river during the dry season will alleviate drought.

Instead, they explain their view that extensive leakage through fissures in the walls of the eventual reservoir behind the dam, as well as the planned abstraction of water for new commercial agriculture and industrial development just downstream will see water levels in Lake Turkana fall by as much as 10 metres.

The ARWG also expresses concern that clay rich soil around the dam could become prone to landslides as it fills up – and to top it off: the dam site is on an active earthquake fault line.

“An accurate assessment of environmental and social processes within the lower Omo Basin indicates that completion of the Gibe III dam would produce a broad range of negative effects, some of which would be catastrophic in the tri-country region where Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya intersect.”

As the World Bank’s review board meets on Mar. 5th, it will have much to consider. At stake is the life of a river, the fate of 200,000 people along its banks, and the commitments to transparent and effective aid made by governments and multilateral institutions alike.

http://www.eastafricaforum.net/2010/02/07/ethiopia-dam-critics-wont-go-away/

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

Thousands flee south every year from Somalia, Ethiopia

Mon Feb 8, 2010

By Frank Nyakairu

NAIROBI (Reuters) - At least 17,000 illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa leave their countries for South Africa annually, most of them transiting through Kenya, a top U.N. official said on Monday.

Tal Raviv, a regional programme officer at the U.N.'s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), told Reuters that conflict and poverty were forcing Ethiopians and Somalis to undertake risky trips to better places.

"We estimate the number of people, specifically Somalis and Ethiopians, going from south central Somalia and southern Ethiopia towards South Africa is between 17,000 and 20,000 men every year," Raviv told Reuters in an interview.

Violence in Somalia has killed some 21,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and uprooted a further 1.5 million people.

Southern Ethiopia is also mired in a long-running insurgency against the Ethiopian government, for more autonomy for the underdeveloped ethnic Somali Ogaden region.

"The journey is made possible because of limited border controls all the way to South Africa, but also the fact that you can easily get false documents and pay bribes to move from one place to another," she said.

IOM's 2009 report estimates that sneaking Ethiopians and Somalis into South Africa was a $40 million business.

Police in Kenya's north eastern region said they have stepped up measures to curb human smuggling.

"We have also sacked some of the corrupt officials who have been taking money from illegal migrants," said James Ole Seriani, north eastern province commissioner, in a telephone interview from the eastern town of Garissa.

Kenya officially closed its 680 km (420 mile) border with Somalia in 2007 fearing the threat from heavily armed militias.

But it has allowed thousands of refugees from Somalia to enter and live in sprawling refugee camps near the border.

RISKY JOURNEY

IOM's 2009 report said organised criminal groups of human smugglers located in eight African countries facilitate the illegal movement.

A 17-year-old Somali boy who travelled from the southern Somalia town of Kismayu to South Africa's Cape Town last year described the journey as risky.

Fearing forceful recruitment by al Shabaab hardline insurgents, the teenager, who asked not to be named, said he travelled in a group of 75 Somalis including a 60-year-old woman and a toddler on the back of an old truck.

"When we entered Zambia, the security forces arrested us and sent us to a prison near the border, where we tilled land on government farms every day for six months," he said.

After half a year in jail, the teenager was released.

He arrived in Cape Town, via Mozambique, 10 months after leaving his hometown of Kismayu.

"South Africa is not my destination. I am now planning to continue to Minnesota, USA," he said.

========= Somalia =======

Showdown In Mogadishu

February 9, 2010: The Transitional Government now has the upper hand in Mogadishu, and is attempting to drive al Shabaab gunmen from city. The government has been able to do this because of the several thousand soldiers trained in Djibouti, Burundi and Kenya. These men have been arriving back in the city over the past few weeks, and have, along with the AU peacekeepers, changed the balance of power. The Islamic radicals have also been weakened by battles with other Islamic radical groups, and religious and clan militias organized for self-defense. Al Shabaab has tried to protect itself in the city by living in residential areas (and preventing the civilians from fleeing).

That hasn't worked, and civilian casualties are higher as a result. Back in the 1990s, the use of human shields worked a few times against peacekeepers (who got killed in large numbers as a result). But since then, the word has got around that you either kill the human shields, or get killed. This stark choice is one thing that has kept Western peacekeepers from returning to Somalia, as Western politicians don't want to deal with this sort of nastiness. But al Shabaab is still pretty strong, particularly because they control the port of Kismayo (south of Mogadishu) which get sea and air shipments of weapons from Eritrea. Attempts to stop Eritrea (which denies everything) have failed, and the weapons keep coming. But Somalis are getting more desperate for a respite from the constant violence. There has been no government for 19 years, the chaos has killed over 100,000 people, and driven several million from their homes. The economy in the south is crippled and Islamic radicals are shutting down foreign aid organizations (which bring in the food and medicine.) Over a million people are already malnourished, and in danger of starvation.

Kenya has sent more troops to its 680 kilometers border with Somalia, especially to the areas that are most frequently used for smuggling and other illegal crossings. There are already nearly 300,000 Somali refugees in Kenya, living in camps near the border. Al Shabaab has threatened to send gunmen south and take control of those camps, and use them as bases for further attacks. Kenya has responded with more troops on the border, with orders to shoot to kill if armed Somalis even threaten violence.

February 6, 2010: Several Ethiopian armored vehicles crossed the border and went to the border towns of El Barde and Yeed, to arrest prominent local al Shabaab supporters. Ethiopia is trying to prevent al Shabaab from organizing local Somalis to grab their weapons and cross the border to join the an uprising in Ethiopia (Ogaden province, which borders Somalia, is largely occupied by ethnic Somalis).

The tiny (85,000 population) nation of Seychelles (islands) has agreed to prosecute pirates captured in local waters. The European nations that bring in pirates for prosecution agreed to pick up the expenses, as well as imprison convicted pirates back in Europe. First, the Seychelles has to spend half a million dollars, and several months, to build a jail for (up to 40) pirates who are being tried. Last year, Seychelles has to released 22 pirates because there was no jail to keep them in. Seychelles has an economy dependent on fishing and tourists, and doesn't have much crime.

February 5, 2010: The International Anti-Pirate patrol rescued a ship that had been seized by pirates. The merchant ship Ariella was prepared for the pirates, with barbed wire surrounding the deck and a safe room for the crew. The incident occurred in the heavily patrolled Gulf of Aden, and when the Ariella sent out a distress call, several warships responded. A team of ten Danish commandos boarded the Ariella, but the pirates had already fled. The purpose of a safe room is to prevent the pirates from seizing the crew (who are needed to steer the ship and keep the engines going), until help can arrive. A safe room should be sturdy enough to resist attempts to get in (short of the use of explosives, that might not work because killing crew leaves the pirates stranded), and equipped with a radio, for communication with rescuers. The pirates usually don't get aboard ships that are prepared for them. It happened last year, when pirates boarded an American merchant ship, carrying food aid for starving Somalis, as it approached a Kenyan port. The crew used a safe room, but the captain was grabbed. U.S. Navy SEAL commandos came aboard, killed two of the remaining pirates and captured the third. But in most cases, there are still plenty of unprepared merchant ships out there, willing to take their chances. These are the ones the pirates tend to take.

February 4, 2010: Pirates bought a captured Libyan cargo ship to the village of Lasqorey, which lies in territory contested by Puntland (where most of the pirates are based) and Somaliland. As the captured ship approached the village, a skiff full of Somaliland soldiers approached. The pirates opened fire, killing one soldier and forcing the others to flee.

by Terror Free Somalia Foundation at

http://terrorfreesomalia.blogspot.com/2010/02/showdown-in-mogadishu.html

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

Somalia: Ethiopian troops cross border

MOGADISHU (Mareeg)—Ethiopian troops with armoured vehicles have crossed the Somali border and reached Elbarde town in Bakol region in south western Somalia, witnesses said on Sunday.

Pro government Somali militias trained recently in Ethiopia have also come with the Ethiopian troops. Reports say the pro government Somali militias are planning to attack towns controlled by al Shabaab in the region.

Residents in Elbarde town have expressed fear about the re-entering of the Ethiopian troops in the country. The situation is tense in Elbarde, where the Ethiopian troops made bases and arrested some teenagers.

The move comes as former Baidoa governor, Abdifitah Gesey said they were ready to attack Bay and Bakool regions and recapture from al Shabaab.

Separately, more other Ethiopian troops entered early on Sunday in parts of Hiraan region in central Somalia.

The Ethiopian troops have reportedly made bases in Sarirale Mountain near Baladweyne, the provincial capital of Hiraan region.

The motive behind the re-entering of the Ethiopian troops is not known, but it comes as the Somali government was making military movement and vowed fighting against the Islamist rebels in Somalia.

Mareeg Online

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

Ethiopian troops cross into two Somali towns-locals

07 Feb 2010
Source: Reuters

Residents say troops seeking man linked to insurgents

* Say troops seize family of man they sought
By Mohamed Ahmed and Abdi Sheikh

MOGADISHU, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Ethiopian troops in armoured vehicles crossed into two border towns in south central Somalia and seized the family of a man with links to al Shabaab insurgents, residents said on Sunday.

They said troops went to El Barde and Yeed on Saturday seeking the man. Washington says al Shabaab is al Qaeda's proxy in the region and which has declared loyalty to al Qaeda.

"Ethiopian troops entered El Barde yesterday and arrested several people today. They were onboard armoured vehicles and were searching for a well-known local man who also works with al Shabaab," a town resident, Hussein Ronow, told Reuters.

"The man escaped, but they took with them his wife and three children. They also took the escaped man's brother and family. The troops have now gone but I understand they are in the outskirts of the town."

Ethiopia invaded its Horn of Africa neighbour with tacit U.S. support at the end of 2006 to oust an Islamist movement that was running the capital Mogadishu and much of the south.
The Ethiopian military officially withdrew in January last year.

Officials in Addis Ababa routinely deny that Ethiopian soldiers are on Somali soil, although they say they are providing security advice and training for Somalia's forces.

"Our enemies, the Ethiopians, have entered our towns and terrified residents. I understand they were searching for some of the residents," Sheikh Aden Yare, head of al Shabaab's administration in Bakool region, told Reuters.

Somali government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Somalia has not had an effective central government for close to two decades, spurring the rise of warlords, heavily armed criminal gangs and pirates who have been terrorising shipping off its coastline.

The international community and neighbouring countries are worried about the wider threat posed by al Shabaab insurgents who control a large part of Somalia and are fighting its fragile government.

For weeks, the government has been promising to launch an offensive against al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, which both want to impose a harsh version of sharia law

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

Witnesses say Ethiopian troops back in Somalia

Mon, 08 Feb 2010

Heavily-armed Ethiopian vehicles have reportedly crossed into south central Somalia, seizing the family of a man with Al-Shabab links.

Witnesses said the neighboring country's troops entered the towns of El Barde and Yeed on Saturday, seeking the unidentified man, according to a Reuters report.

"They came with armored vehicles and were searching for a well-known local man who also works with Al-Shabab," Hussein Ronow, a town resident said on Sunday.

The man reportedly escaped, but his wife and three children along with his brother and his brother's family were arrested.

The head of Al-Shabab's administration in the Bakool region confirmed the incident.

"Our enemies, the Ethiopians, have entered our towns and terrified the residents. I understand they were searching for some of the residents," Sheikh Aden Yare told Reuters.

The Ethiopians troops are now positioned in the outskirts of the town.

Ethiopia sent thousands of troops into Somalia in 2006 to help topple arebel movement that controlled Mogadishu and most of the South. The move drew protests from some in the Muslim world and enraged the local fighters, who regrouped and launch a war campaign against 'the invaders.'

The Ethiopian soldiers withdrew last January but residents, local fighters and humanitarian organizations have reported several incursions in the past few months.

Meanwhile on Monday, the lawless capital of Mogadishu once again witnessed intense fighting between local fighters and pro-government forces, in a battle near the African Union bases.

Heavy explosions and the exchange of artillery fire went on throughout the night, leaving at least eight people dead and 22 others injured.

Somalia has been marred by nearly two decades of civil strife, spurring the rise of warlords, heavily armed criminal gangs and pirates who have been terrorizing shipping off its coastline.

Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/pop/Print/?id=118160

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

Al-shabab says its fighters targeted blasts to AMISOM’s base in Mogadishu, spokesman denies

2/10/2010 - Shabelle: SOMALIA

MOGADISHU (Sh. M. Network) – the officials of Harakat Al-shabab mujahideen have Wednesday said that their fighters targeted explosions to the main base of the African Union troops (AMSIOM) in Mogadishu and killed officers, just as the spokesman of the African Union troops denied claims.

Sheik Ali Mohamud Raghe, the spokesman of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen told reporters that their fighters targeted explosions to Halane, the military base for the AMISOM troops in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday afternoon adding that they had killed several officers of AMISOM troops there in southern Somalia.

The spokesman of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen said that the blast was carried out tactically by their forces at a hole very close the shore around the airport where the officers of AMISOM were enjoying stressing that they had reached victory over their attack.

“We are congratulating to the Somali people that Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen carried out great explosions to AMISOM’s base at Halane and killed more of their men. We shall explain how the blast was planned at later,” said the spokesman of AMISOM.

On the other hand the spokesman of AMISOM troops major. Brigye Bahuko who was speaking to Shabelle radio had denied that any explosion had been targeted to any of their bases in the capital saying that Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen use its fighting for the media.

“kkkkkkkkkkkkkk, we can point out that statement as madness, because the people saying that they had attacked Halane base were indulge ones. They used Mirow (kat). It is false that we have been attacked. No casualties had reached to our forces,” said AMISOM’s spokesman

Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage had warned to the Burundi and Uganda whose troops are in the country to withdraw from Somalia or else will be returned back to their countries being bodies.

Some of the residents around airport whom we had contacted told Shabelle radio that the sound of big explosion could be heard the side of Halane compound, the main base of the African Union troops AMISOM in Mogadishu.