Somalia's powerful Islamists said yesterday that they were finalizing plans to fight Ethiopian forces deployed in the lawless country as a seven-day ultimatum for Addis Ababa to pull out its troops was due to expire.
But as Islamic fighters and government troops, backed by Ethiopian forces, girded for an all-out war, the Islamists said they might not attack immediately.
"The decision to attack the Ethiopians was already reached, but we are now in the last stages of preparing for the full-scale war," top Islamic commander Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal said.
"I cannot say we will start fighting today or tomorrow, but we expect a heavy war as long as Ethiopians stay inside our territory," added Bilal, who commands Islamic fighters in frontlines near the the the government seat in Baidoa, about 250km northwest of the capital Mogadishu.
"I have heard about people saying the Islamic courts have halted their plan for jihad, this is baseless statement, we shall never renege on our promise to fight Ethiopian invaders," he said.
Government officials could not be reached for comment, but Information Minister Ali Jama said on Monday that government forces were on alert, although a conflict could still be avoided through talks.
Over the weekend, top Islamist official, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said the movement was prepared for "dialogue" with Ethiopia.
Ahmed and the speaker of the Somali parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden announced a deal, reached in Yemen, to bring the Islamists and the government back to the negotiating table after Arab League-mediated peace talks collapsed last month.
Officials said several western and African diplomats have been lobbying both sides to refrain from fresh skirmishes.
The government has toned down its objection to peace talks with the Islamists, who control swathes of southern and central Somalia, but said its rival's saber rattling was making a search for dialogue impossible.
The Islamists, who are accused of links to al-Qaeda, have already declared a holy war on Ethiopian forces and claimed first blood in recent skirmishes with Addis Ababa troops.
Ethiopia has sent several hundred military trainers and advisers to help the Somali government, but denies widespread reports it has deployed thousands of combat troops to Somalia to forestall a feared Islamist advance towards Baidoa, the only city held by the transitional administration.
Analysts have warned that an all-out war in Somalia would engulf the whole region, as both countries are accused of fighting a proxy war in Somalia.
The Islamists have rejected the recent UN approval of deployment of peacekeepers to protect the government, with clerics vowing to attack any foreign troops stepping into Somalia.
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
A Japanese city would urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties. The limit — which would be recommended for all residents in Toyoake City — would not be binding and there would be no penalties incurred for higher usage, the draft ordinance showed. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues... including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said yesterday. The draft urges elementary-school students to avoid smartphones after 9pm, and junior-high students and older are advised not
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) attended a grand ceremony in Lhasa yesterday during a rare visit to Tibet, where he urged “ethnic unity and religious harmony” in a region where China is accused of human rights abuses. The vast high-altitude area on the country’s western edge, established as an autonomous region in 1965 — six years after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile — was once a hotbed for protest against Chinese Communist Party rule. Rights groups accuse Beijing’s leaders of suppressing Tibetan culture and imposing massive surveillance, although authorities claim their policies have fostered stability and rapid economic development in
RSS