Heavy fighting has broken out in Somalia between government troops and the forces of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), just hours after the expiration of the UIC's deadline for Ethiopia to withdraw its soldiers supporting the government.
Agence France-Presse reports that attacks have broken out on several fronts south and east of Baidoa, the only city currently under the control of the internationally recognized transitional government.
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"I can confirm to you that heavy fighting has already started around several front line areas," Islamic commander Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal has said. ...
Government commander Ibrahim Batari confirmed the fighting, accusing the Islamists of mounting the attack. "There is shelling everywhere... our forces are facing Islamists, hell is going on," he said.
Reuters reports that the fighting appears to be between UIC forces and Ethiopian soldiers supporting the Somali government.
"Neither side is winning. It's the Ethiopian troops who were fighting the Islamists. I am trapped," a driver stranded between the opposing sides told Reuters by telephone, with the sounds of the fighting echoing in the background.
Reuters also cited a government source that said dozens of Ethiopian troops Tuesday drove from Baidoa to a battle southwest of the city. The source said that "This is the fighting we have been waiting for."
The UIC has repeatedly accused Ethiopia of sending some 30,000 troops into Somalia, and recently set a Tuesday deadline for the withdrawal of those forces. The Ethiopian government has denied having any soldiers in Somalia beyond a few hundred instructors sent to train government forces.
A map showing the flashpoints around Baidoa has been posted by the BBC.
The BBC also reports that the outbreak of violence came just as European Union envoy Louis Michel arrived in Somalia to try and facilitate peace talks. Mr. Michel has met with Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi in Baidoa, and is traveling to Mogadishu to meet with UIC leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. Mr. Aweys is accused by the US government of having ties to Al Qaeda.
The current fighting is a marked change from just a day ago, when both sides appeared reluctant to attack the other. Reuters reported that a UIC spokesman underscored that the Islamic forces wanted peace, and had not meant the deadline for Ethiopia to withdraw as a prelude to violence. "We did not mean we will attack them if they don't pull out, but that talks cannot go ahead unless they pull out," Abdirahman Ali Mudey said. The New York Times reported similar sentiments from the government side: Ali Jama, the information minister, said, "We won't launch any attacks either. We will wait to see what the Islamists do."
The Christian Science Monitor reported last week that the conflict in Somalia has the potential to draw in its neighbors, as Somalia has become "a dangerous playground for other people's wars." Ethiopia is already actively involved in the conflict, while a UN monitoring group says that the UIC has received logistical and material support from Eritrea, Egypt, Djibouti, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan. Some fear that Somalia may become a proxy war for Ethiopia and Eritrea, whose war from 1998 to 2000 ended "in exhaustion" rather than a peace treaty.
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Feedback appreciated. E-mail Arthur Bright.
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