(AP) – MOGADISHU, Somalia: Insurgents briefly overran two government bases Thursday after hours of fighting killed at least seven people, including a 7-year-old boy, witnesses said.
The insurgent attack was the latest brazen move by fighters linked to an Islamic extremist group that was driven out in December 2006 by Somalia’s Western-backed government and its Ethiopian Woyanne allies.
In recent weeks, the insurgents have taken over government positions, marched into towns and even released prisoners from jail before retreating.
“Insurgents were firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, and the soldiers were using mortars and heavy artillery,” said Shuceyb Ali, a resident of the capital, Mogadishu.
She and other witnesses said the insurgents drove government soldiers from two bases before retreating.
About 20 people were being treated for wounds at two hospitals in the capital, officials said. A 7-year-old boy died of his wounds at Medina Hospital, said Fadumo Osman, a nurse.
Associated Press writers Mohamed Sheikh Nor and Salad Duhul contributed to this report.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organized a canvas painting event at Meskel Square on 7 & 8 March 2008 under the theme “Stop Early Marriage.” The painting of a 100 meter canvas, which is the largest piece of painting ever painted in Ethiopia, was undertaken on the two consecutive days by 30 of Ethiopia’s prominent artists and the painting was launched on March 8, the International Women’s Day, which was commemorated this year with the theme “Investing in Women and Girls”. The event was attended by His Holiness Abuna Paulos, Aba Gebremedhin, [illigitimate] Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and President of the World Council of Churches; Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); members of the diplomatic corps; and other high level dignitaries.
The canvas painting event was one major activity forming part of a national campaign entitled “Stop Early Marriage.” The “Stop Early Marriage” campaign was graciously kicked-started under the auspices of Ethiopia’s First Lady, H.E. Wz. Azeb Mesfin, at the recent summit of the African First Ladies. The campaign was conceived a few months ago by UNFPA, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Population Council. This unique, participatory and big-impact canvas painting event was believed to be a key milestone in enhancing the understanding of the public, policy-makers and development stakeholders on early marriage.
Making a remark during the event His Holiness Abuna Paulos condemned the practice of early marriage and noted that his church would not bless any instance of early marriage.
“Early Marriage is one of the prevalent forms of gender-based violence in Ethiopia with negative consequences on women’s and girl’s reproductive health, including maternal deaths, fistula, HIV/AIDS and other negative psycho-social problems,” remarked Dr. Monique Rakotomalala, UNFPA Representative to Ethiopia. She also underscored that rural-urban migration and susceptibility to poverty, physical and sexual abuse are consequences of early marriage established by research.
The team of artists who participated in the canvas painting are Ethiopia’s celebrated artists, who brought together an interesting mixture of styles, ages and gender to express their feelings for the fight against early marriage. The canvas painting event took place in full view on the public.
Gender is one of the core mandates of UNFPA and the organization has built operational experience in preventing early marriage and addressing the consequences of the practice in urban Ethiopia. With funding it secured from the Nike and United Nations Foundations, UNFPA has in the past two years been supporting a successful early marriage prevention project in the Amhara Region where half of all girls get married by the age of 15. The project has been implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Amhara Youth and Sports Bureau, with technical assistance provided by Population Council. The practice of early marriage is also prevalent in two other regions of the country namely Benishangul Gumuz and Tigray Regions.
The “Stop Early Marriage” campaign will also be linked to some key publicity events in 2008, including the Women’s First Run taking place on March 23rd; the Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (November 25-December 16); and World Population Day. Currently UNFPA is running radio and TV spots on national and regional radio and TV stations as part of the campaign and the spots will be aired for three consecutive months to come.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
The top general of Woyanne’s occupation army in Somalia, Tagay Gabre (also known as “the Black Graziani“), might have been cowering under his desk tonight as Somali freedom fighters chased out his mercenary troops out of their Mogadishu military camp.
(ZALAMBESA) — Ethiopian Woyanne and Eritrean forces on Monday fought for about one hour on north Ethiopian Tigray region’s Zalambesa front on a specific place called Anbeset Geleba, military official said.
The clash comes after Eritrean forces approach Ethiopian border to return back two farmers who earlier to the clash fled to Ethiopian border driving 2 tractors, said Birhanu Hagezom, military chief of a regiment at Zalambesa front.
“Ethiopian Woyanne forces were forced to be engaged on a defensive military attack as the Eritrean solders continue attacking our military barracks using the incident of the fleeing Eritrean farmers as a means” Birhanu told reporters.
Birhanu rejected on some reports saying 2 Ethiopian Woyanne solders were killed on the clash.
“Our forces were not exposed to the attack but they were defending from their military barracks” he said adding “No soldier has died or injured from our side but the Eritrean forces were strike back with a heavy loss”. He said.
Some unconfirmed source from the battle area said that 5 Eritrean and 2 Ethiopian Woyanne solders have died while 7 Eritrean solders surrender as the result of the clash.
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Islamic militants in Somalia welcomed being added to the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations, saying Wednesday they only wished the designation had come sooner.
The State Department announced Tuesday that it added the military wing of the Council of Islamic Court to its list of foreign terrorist organizations. Some members of its military wing, called al-Shabab or “the youth,” are affiliated with the al-Qaida terror network, U.S. officials said.
“We are happy that the U.S. put us on its list of terrorists, a name given to pure Muslims who are strong and clear in their religious position,” Sheik Muqtar Robow, al-Shabab’s spokesman, told The Associated Press by phone from an undisclosed location in Somalia. He said he was pleased to be on a list that included Islamic militants – “our brothers” – in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We would have been happy to be the first but now we are unhappy that we are the last,” Robow said.
He accused the United States of targeting his group because it is “fighting against Ethiopia, a Christian nation that had invaded our country.”
Mogadishu, the Somali capital, has been engulfed in an insurgency launched by Islamic militants from the movement, which controlled much of southern Somalia for six months before being driven out in December 2006 by the country’s western-backed government and its Ethiopian allies.
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On Wednesday, heavy fighting in Mogadishu killed at least eight people, including three Ethiopian soldiers, witnesses said.
Earlier Wednesday, top Council of Islamic Courts leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys denied links between terrorists and al-Shabab, and said the militants “are part of the coalition for the re-liberation of Somalia.”
“The U.S. policy toward Somalia is always wrong and twisted,” Aweys told the AP in a telephone interview. “They made the wrong decision in 2006 when they backed the Ethiopian invasion and they are wrong to designate part of the resistance as terrorists.”
Designated terror organizations cannot legally receive material or resources from Americans, and their property and interests in the U.S. are blocked.
Officials from Somalia’s transitional government say al-Shabab’s leader, Aden Hashi Ayro, was trained in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks, and heads up al-Qaida’s cell in Somalia.
The United States repeatedly has accused Somalia’s Islamic movement of harbouring terrorists linked to al-Qaida and allegedly responsible for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The U.S. military has staged several attacks on suspected extremists in Somalia over the past year. The navy’s most recent missile strike, earlier this month, targeted a Kenyan suspected in the 1998 embassy bombings. The United States also sent a small number of special operations troops to help the Ethiopian force that drove the Islamic movement into hiding.
The United States has avoided sustained military action in Somalia since leading a UN force that intervened in the early 1990s in an effort to fight famine. That mission led to clashes between UN forces and Somali warlords, including a battle in Mogadishu that killed 18 American soldiers.
Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on one another. The current transitional government – formed with UN help in 2004 – has struggled to assert any real control.
MOGADISHU (AFP) — At least eight people, including two civilians, were killed in heavy fighting between soldiers and insurgents Wednesday in northern Mogadishu, witnesses told AFP.
“I witnessed the death of three Ethiopian Woyanne troops. They were killed by bullets after being ambushed,” local resident Ali Dhaqane said of the clashes in the Suqaholaha neighbourhood.
“I was forced to flee the area where I lived because of the intensity of the violence. The ambush was carried out by heavily armed Somali gunmen,” he said.
Abdullahi Tahlil, another eyewitness, also gave a death toll of at least eight and said that three Somali insurgents were among the dead.
“Their guns were collected by fellow fighters,” he said. “The fighting was not far from my house.”
Islamist fighters seized control of Ethiopian a Woyanne military compound in northern Mogadishu after the fighting, the Islamists and an independent source told AFP.
“Maslah military compound that was used by the Ethiopian troops is now under our control. We fought fiercely against the enemy (and seized it),” one of the fighters told AFP.
Another source that requested anonymity confirmed the seizure, which is a setback to efforts to stabilize the troubled country.
A pro-Islamist website published a picture of the seized camp.
More from Garowe >>
————————– Somali Insurgents force Ethiopian soldiers to vacate army base
MOGADISHU (Garowe Online) – Heavy fighting erupted in the Somali capital early Wednesday morning after Islamist rebels attacked an Ethiopian Woyanne army base in northern Mogadishu, our correspondent reported.
At least six people – three Ethiopian Woyanne soldiers and three insurgents – have been confirmed dead during the battle, which lasted for nearly five hours, according to witnesses.
More than 10 civilians were wounded during the onslaught. Locals who live in and around Mogadishu’s livestock market in Huriwa district said they could not leave their homes during the battle.
Ethiopian Woyanne troops stationed at the Maslah army camp spread into the livestock market and were reportedly moving equipment and other military materials to the ex-pasta factory when they came under gunfire.
The fighting started off slowly, but gradually strengthened as more insurgents joined the battle and Ethiopian soldiers left their barracks at the former pasta factory base to reinforce troops at Maslah.
The Ethiopian Woyanne army used tanks against insurgents who used mortars and rockets during the battle. Several shells hit neighborhoods but casualties could not be confirmed yet.
Military sources in Mogadishu tell Garowe Online that the Ethiopian Woyanne troops stationed at the Maslah camp were being relocated to the pasta factory, citing logistical difficulties that impacted the supply route.
The latest reports indicate that Islamist gunmen had successfully captured Maslah camp after the Ethiopian troops withdrew towards the ex-pasta factory.
A bloody insurgency has gripped Mogadishu since January 2007 when Ethiopian troops helped install the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government in the Somali capital.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than half a million civilians displaced from their homes in Mogadishu since, according to human rights groups.
The top general of Woyanne’s occupation army in Somalia, Tagay Gabre (also known as “the Black