Garowe Online (Garowe)
24 December 2007
Garowe — A group of Somali militants fighting against the country's Ethiopian-backed transitional government released two soldiers today, saying that they do not want to kill Somalis.
A spokesman for the group, Jabhada Islamiga Somaliyeed (JIS), refused to give his name to Mogadishu-based media but stated that the two soldiers were kidnapped at Bakara market two days earlier.
The unidentified spokesman said the soldiers were released after the group spoke with their relatives and agreed that the soldiers will not return to the Somali army.
The two uniformed soldiers - identified as Ibrahim Yusuf Abdi and Liban Mohamed - said they were trained in neighboring Ethiopia and recently deployed in Mogadishu.
They both said they will not return to the army, because they have been "pardoned" by the Islamist rebels.
The JIS group's unidentified spokesman said the group does not wish to target Somalis, whether they are soldiers or civilians. The JIS is intent on attacking Ethiopian troops, the spokesman added.
Somali military sources in Mogadishu confirmed to Garowe Online that both Mr. Abdi and Mr. Mohamed were trained in a town 80km from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
The emergence of JIS reflects the further fragmentation of insurgent groups fighting against the Somali government and its Ethiopian military allies, analysts said.
Recently, the Al-Shabaab insurgent fighters disassociated themselves from the Eritrea-based Somali opposition group called the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, a coalition of Islamists and former government members.
Meanwhile, a mortar attack on Bakara market on Monday killed and wounded at least 8 civilians, witnesses said.
It is the third mortar attack on the country's largest market this month alone.
Burundi sent 92 more peacekeepers to Mogadishu today to bolster a 100-strong force the African Union member state sent yesterday under an AU mandate.
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