Ethiopian Army Sets Up New Bases in Somalia

The Ethiopian army, which had announced it would pull out of Somalia by the end of the year, is reportedly establishing new bases in central Somalia and has yet to withdraw from key positions in the capital Mogadishu. In recent days, Addis Ababa has hinted it would extend the deployment of its forces in response to intensified efforts by militant Islamists to take over key towns. more..http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-12-08-voa27.cfm?rss=topstories
ANALYSIS-Ethiopia pullout opens door for Somali Islamists
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L9474934.htm
Ethiopia says AU peacekeepers to quit Somalia too
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - African Union peacekeepers in Somalia have asked Ethiopian troops planning to leave the country at the end of the year to help them quit Mogadishu too, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Thursday.
There are 3,200 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi guarding strategic sites in the capital, which has been the focus of a two-year Iraq-style insurgency by Islamist rebels battling the Horn of Africa nation's Western-backed interim government more..http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnJOE4BA0D4.html

Somalia: Military tensions rise as Ethiopia deploys troops into Hiran region



BELETWEIN, Somalia Dec 9 Ethiopian troops have reportedly amassed near the Somali-Ethiopian border, rising military tensions in Hiran and Galgadud regions, Radio Garowe reported Tuesday.An Ethiopian army convoy of 20 military trucks has reportedly reached a village 30km northwest of Beletwein, the capital of Hiran region.Beletwein is a major population center and has been under the control of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in recent months.Residents said ICU militia had set up defensive positions early Tuesday morning around Beletwein, with locals apprehensive about a possible Ethiopian incursion.Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, the ICU chief in Hiran, confirmed to RG that the Islamist fighters in the region were deployed at strategic defensive positions.Conflicting reports have emerged about the Ethiopian army buildup in Hiran, with some reports suggesting that the Ethiopian garrison is planning to block a possible Al Shabaab retreat from Galgadud region.Al Shabaab fighters seized the region's capital and a trading down last week, but a fresh convoy of Ethiopian troops arrived in Galgadud on Monday and locals fear military hostilities could erupt in the region any moment , The Ethiopian government has announced plans to withdraw its troops from Somalia soon, but continued territorial gains by the Islamist Al Shabaab faction in the central regions is seen as a growing threat.Beledwayne just like mogadishu is 90% hawiye town.is located hawiye Heartland

Ethiopia Rejects Rights Report on Somalia as 'Politically-Motivated'
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-12-08-voa52.cfm
Yemen: Fear of failure http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1214&p=front&a=1
West's policies in Somalia criticised
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2008/1209/1228571686029.html
Witnesses: Ethiopians troops pouring into Somalia
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/09/africa/AF-Somalia.php
Ethiopia's PM Declares 'Mission Accomplished' in
Somalia
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2008/12/mil-081211-voa08.htm