Garowe Online (Garowe)
3 July 2008
Ethiopian troops who have been attacked repeatedly across several towns in central Somalia this week were ambushed again on Thursday, Radio Garowe reported.
The Ethiopian army convoy left bases at the border town of Fer Fer and was reportedly en route to a base outside of the town of Beletwein when Somali rebels attacked.
One Islamist fighter told Radio Garowe that their fighters had retreated back towards Beletwein, the capital of Hiran region which has been under the control of the Islamic Courts militia since Saturday.
The Ethiopian forces are using heavy weaponry and have pounded rebel positions with artillery, according to locals.
There have been a series of clashes involving Ethiopian troops stationed in the Beletwein area this week. The troops first left bases near Beletwein on Friday and traveled north towards Galgadud region, where they were attacked by insurgents in the town of Guri El.
After two days of battles in Guri El, the Ethiopian force withdrew south and was ambushed in Mataban town before reaching the major base at Fer Fer border town.
It is not clear where the Ethiopian troops are headed, but Beletwein has been the town with the third-largest concentration of Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia, after Mogadishu and Baidoa.
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