Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
Aweys Osman Yusuf
22 October 2006
Mogadishu — Forces accompanied by about seven battlewagons mounted with anti-aircraft guns from the semi-autonomous state of Puntland have reached the town of Abudwaq in Galgadud province, central Somalia.
According to reliable sources in the area, the troops have arrived to Abudwaq to convince elders and intellectuals in the district to accept and receive some unconfirmed number of Ethiopian troops who will be brought in Abudwaq on the coming days.
Ethiopian forces had, previously, been massed across Somali borders in fear that Somalia's powerful Islamists might trespass Somalia's giant neighbor, Ethiopia.
High-ranking officers including Abdi Qeybdid who was member of the defeated anti-terror alliance backed by US government were leading the troops and the battlewagons in Abudwaq and have reportedly indicated that expected Ethiopian troops would form strong military base in Abudwaq, central Somalia.
Somalia's weak government, largely counting on Ethiopian military support, has embarked up on military movements in some parts of Somalia.
The government forces have seized Bur Hakaba on Saturday where small number of Islamists and militias loyal to Islamic Courts were based.
Somalia had no central authority since 1991 when tribal warlords ousted former president Siyad Barre.
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