By Abdi Sheikh
Saturday, May 10, 2008
More than 35 people have died since Thursday in clashes between rebels and allied Somali-Ethiopian troops that broke out a week after a militant leader was killed in a U.S. air strike.
Residents said the insurgents targeted government troops in Yaqbaraweyne, a small town west of the capital, and also fought with Ethiopian forces in Towfiq, north of the city.
"The Islamists opened fire on government troops as they passed the same place Ethiopians were ambushed two days ago," witness Ali Diriye told Reuters by phone from Yaqbaraweyne.
"Five soldiers were killed on the spot. One pick-up truck escaped with the driver and two of the injured. The other two vehicles were captured by the insurgents."
Washington has listed Somalia's al Shabaab militia as a terrorist group and says it has close ties to al Qaeda.
In Towfiq, locals said the rebels attacked Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia's fragile interim government.
"I saw an Ethiopian military vehicle burning and three dead bodies that looked like insurgents lying nearby after the fighting stopped," said one resident, Abey Issa.
Source: Reuters, May 10, 2008