Somalian airports bombed as Ethiopian troops capture town
Ethiopian jets dominated Somalia’s skies today and bombed the country’s two main airports while ground troops captured a strategic village.
The action provided Somalia’s internationally backed government with the military assistance it desperately needs to fend off a powerful Islamic militia.
The Russian-made jets swept low over the capital, dropping two bombs on Mogadishu International Airport, which just recently reopened after the Islamic takeover of the city.
The leader of the Islamic militia, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, flew into the airport shortly after the attack; it was not clear if he was an intended target.
Airstrikes also hit Baledogle Airport, about 60 miles outside Mogadishu.
“We heard the sound of the jets and then they pounded,” said Abdi Mudey, a soldier with Somalia’s Council of Islamic Courts, which has seized control of the capital and much of southern Somalia since June.
Somali troops backed by Ethiopian soldiers also drove Islamic forces out of the key border town of Belet Weyne, then headed south in pursuit of fleeing Islamic militiamen.
Government troops were enforcing a 3pm to 6am curfew.
“Anyone who has a gun but is not wearing a government uniform will be targeted as a terrorist,” said Aden Garase, a government soldier who was put in charge of Belet Weyne.
No reliable casualty reports were available.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said yesterday that his country was “forced to enter a war” with Somalia’s Council of Islamic Courts after the group declared holy war on Ethiopia.
The Islamic group, which wants to rule the country by the Koran, has been a source of grave concern by largely Christian Ethiopia.
So far, Ethiopian and Somali troops have used MiG jet fighters and artillery to attack the Islamists, who have no military aircraft and can only return fire with much smaller mortars and recoil-less rifles.
But Meles has said he does not intend to keep his forces in Somalia for long, perhaps only a few weeks. He told visiting dignitaries in Addis Ababa his goal was to severely damage the courts’ military capabilities, take away their sense of invincibility and allow both sides to return to peace talks on an even footing.
The Arab League, which has mediated several rounds of talks between the Somali government and the Islamists, called today for all parties involved to “immediately hold a comprehensie ceasefire”.
Many Somalis are enraged by the idea of Ethiopian involvement because the countries have fought two wars over their disputed border in the past 45 years.
But the Somali government, which has failed to assert any real control since it was formed two years ago with the support of the United Nations, relies on its neighbour’s military strength.
Experts fear the conflict in Somalia could engulf the already volatile Horn of Africa. A recent UN report said 10 countries have been supplying arms and equipment to both sides of the conflict and using Somalia as a proxy battlefield.
Today, the Somali government started closing its borders to keep foreign fighters from joining the Islamic courts.
Heavy artillery and mortar fire continued to echo through the main government town of Baidoa, about 140 miles north-west of Mogadishu, said Mohammed Sheikh Ali, a resident.
The Islamists have the town surrounded on three sides, but government and Ethiopian troops were attempting to push them back.
