Islamist fighters have vowed to wage a guerrilla war to destabilize the weak government and its Ethiopian backers, but no Islamist leaders could be reached on Sunday for comment on the latest government claim.
The presence of Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu has sparked street protests but relative calm returned on Sunday, a day after a teenage boy was killed during a demonstration to denounce their stay and a now-postponed disarmament drive.
In Beledweyne Somali forces killed one person and wounded three others at a demonstration to protest the arrest by Ethiopian forces of a police official who released Islamist Sheikh Farah Moalim from prison.
"The government forces tried to disperse the people and opened fire and shot one person. He died in the hospital," said Osman Adan Ares, a Beledweyne resident.
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