|
|
Somalia: Islamist Guerrillas Capture Burhakaba, Bardhere Towns
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Garowe Online (Garowe)
13 July 2008
Posted to the web 14 July 2008
Islamist rebels in southern Somalia seized two more towns Sunday, as the Ethiopian-backed interim government's defense minister disclosed that newly-trained Somali soldiers had arrived in the country.
Heavily-armed rebels peacefully entered the town of Bardhere, in the southwestern region of Gedo, on Saturday afternoon and immediately disbanded a recently established police force.
Sheikh Abdulkadir Yusuf, who spoke for the fighters, accused the Bardhere police force of "having links" to the interim government in Mogadishu, Somalia's national capital.
Locals expressed their dismay at the Islamists' takeover of Bardhere, with one clan elder telling reporters: "It is surprising that in Bardhere where the people established self-rule and there is no presence of the [Federal] Government, who is it [Bardhere] captured from and who is capturing it [Bardhere]?"
Town elder Arabey Hassan Yare, who is a former army colonel, went on to warn the rebels to retreat from Bardhere.
In Bay region, where Somalia's federal parliament is based, Islamist fighters seized control of Burhakaba town without a shot being fired.
Burhakaba is located 60km from Baidoa, the capital of Bay and the seat of the Horn of Africa country's parliament.
Mohamed "O'Karey" Abdi, the mayor of Burhakaba, confirmed to reporters in Baidoa that "al Shabaab" fighters took control of his town.
Meanwhile, residents and truck drivers in Gedo region along the Ethio-Somali border have reported that hundreds of Somali troops entered from Ethiopia, backed by more than 70 armored vehicles.
Somali Defense Minister Muhiyadin Haji Mohamed recently told parliament that security forces trained in neighboring Ethiopia will arrive in the country to help with security efforts.
The 2,000-strong force includes soldiers and police officers, according to the defense minister.
Somalia's interim government, backed by Ethiopian troops, is attempting to reimpose central rule after nearly 18 years of armed conflict.
|
Islamist rebels have vowed to continue a bloody guerrilla war until Ethiopian forces withdraw from Somali soil.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Garowe Online. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
