Somalian villagers accuse Ethiopians of cross-border raid
News reports say hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers crossed the border into Somalia this weekend, arresting dozens of villagers linked to radical Islamist groups. They were said to be accompanied by pro-government Somali militias. The troops may have been tracking members of an Ogaden rebel group that is seeking independence for the Somali-speaking population of Ethiopia. Ethiopia ended a two-year invasion of Somalia earlier this year, aimed at uprooting Islamic extremists and supporting the UN-backed moderate Somali government. The alleged incursion is likely to inflame a month of deadly violence in Somalia that began when militants killed a dozen war veterans in a mortar attack. This was followed by a US helicopter raid that killed a senior militant suspected of being linked to al-Qaeda and a double suicide bombing on the African Union headquarters in the capital, Mogadishu.
Become an Insider