Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Davos 2012
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
Nader Mousavizadeh
James Saft
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Money
Money Home
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our top photos from the past week. Full Article
Best photos of the year
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Iran delays missile test
7:25am EST
Russell Brand-Katy Perry 14-month marriage over
|
30 Dec 2011
Boeing wins $3.48 billion U.S. missile contract
12:32am EST
Gold's 10 percent gain in 2011 extends run to 11th year
30 Dec 2011
Clean-cut Romney sons on the stump in New Hampshire
29 Dec 2011
Discussed
365
Obama to ask for debt limit hike: Treasury official
121
Iran navy chief says shutting off Gulf ”very easy”
115
Pope ushers in Christmas, decries commercialization
Watched
Perry, Brand join long list of 2011 celebrity splits
Fri, Dec 30 2011
Man and dog saved from LA cliff
Thu, Dec 29 2011
Chile soccer fans on the rampage
Fri, Dec 30 2011
Ethiopia troops attack rebels in Somali town: residents
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
ICRC sends aid for casualties in Somalia fighting
Fri, Dec 30 2011
Somali staff member kills 2 MSF aid workers in Mogadishu
Thu, Dec 29 2011
UPDATE 5-Ethiopia jails Swedish journalists for aiding rebels
Tue, Dec 27 2011
UPDATE 6-Yemen's Saleh vows to leave, troops kill 9 protesters
Sat, Dec 24 2011
U.S. drone kills Yemen al Qaeda leader's relative: source
Fri, Dec 23 2011
Analysis & Opinion
Stopping the Stop Online Piracy Act
NFL Week 16 Christmas Lineman picks
Related Topics
World »
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar
MOGADISHU |
Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:38am EST
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Ethiopian troops captured a rebel-held town in central Somalia on Saturday, Addis Ababa and residents said, in a new front against the al Qaeda-linked militants who are seen as a threat to the region's stability.
The al Shabaab rebels said on Saturday they had repelled three Ethiopian assaults north of the town and then carried out a "planned withdrawal" from the settlement.
Both Ethiopia and Kenya have sent troops into Somalia to fight Islamist al Shabaab militants, following a wave of cross-border attacks and kidnappings Nairobi blamed on the rebels.
The reports suggested the militants were now facing opposition on three fronts.
Al Shabaab is fighting Kenyan troops in the south. African Union peacekeepers and Somali government soldiers have pushed the militants out of most of the capital Mogadishu. The Ethiopian assault marked a new push in central Somalia.
"Ethiopian troops are now in Baladwayne town. Al Shabaab fighters have run away," resident Osman Farah told Reuters.
"We were woken up by the shells of Ethiopian troops early in the morning. They attacked al Shabaab on the outskirts of the town. We cannot leave our houses. We can see Ethiopian troops from the cracks of our windows," he said.
Ethiopian government spokesman Bereket Simon said Ethiopian and Somali government forces had captured the town.
"Enemy troops were routed during the operation and have retreated. We only had minimal losses," Bereket said.
Baladwayne is a commercial and farming town that lies near a river in central Somalia, about 45 km away (28 miles) from the Ethiopian border and 335 km north of Mogadishu.
It is also the capital of the Hiiran region and was under the control of al Shabaab, which is fighting Somalia's Western-backed government. Residents fear the militants could retake the town if Ethiopian troops leave.
SHABAAB SAYS REPELS ATTACK
Somalia has been mired in anarchy since warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Rebel spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters earlier on Saturday Ethiopian troops had attacked al Shabaab fighters 20 km north of Baladwayne. He said al Shabaab had repelled the soldiers three times.
On its Twitter account, al Shabaab quoted Abu Musab as saying the militants had declared a "planned withdrawal" from the town because of Ethiopia's "indiscriminate" shelling. The claim could not be independently verified.
Local elder Hassan Abdi said many residents had fled the town as the warring parties fought on the outskirts.
"We do not have details about casualties. No fighting took place in the town itself. The town is calm," he said.
KENYA KILLS SUSPECTED MILITANTS
The Somali government said on Saturday its forces had recaptured some al-Shabaab territory in Hiiran and other regions.
Ethiopian soldiers previously went into Somalia in 2006, and left in early 2009 after pushing the Islamist Islamic Courts Union out of the capital Mogadishu.
At the time, most Somalis opposed the intervention and analysts said it may have encouraged people to join the militants. This time, locals say public opinion has largely turned against the militants.
Kenya has witnessed a spate of low-level attacks against its security forces near the border with Somalia since the start of the military campaign.
On Saturday, Kenyan security forces killed three suspected militants as they tried to enter Kenyan waters through the Lamu archipelago on the northern coast, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said.
Kenya said it would host an anti-piracy conference in February as cooperation grows between al Shabaab and pirate gangs who have increased attacks off the Horn of Africa coast.
(Additional reporting by Omar Faruk in Mogadishu, Humphrey Malalo and Ben Makori in Nairobi and Aaron Maasho in Addis Ababa; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
World
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.