Ethiopia troops 'back in Somalia',Ethiopia denies its troops entered Somalia

Ethiopian military forces have crossed back into Somalia, four months after leaving, witnesses told the BBC. Their reported return comes as Islamist militants continue to seize towns from the fragile Western-backed government. One resident said he saw Ethiopian troops digging trenches in Kalabeyr, a town 22km (14 miles) from the Somali-Ethiopian border.
An Ethiopian spokesman denied the reports. Its troops left Somalia in January after two years in the country. They entered Somalia in 2006 to help oust Islamist forces from the capital Mogadishu but withdrew under a UN-backed peace deal. .more..http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8057115.stm
Ethiopia denies its troops entered Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Witnesses said Tuesday that Ethiopian troops have crossed the border into war-ravaged Somalia and appear to be stationing themselves in a town at a strategic crossroads. Ethiopia denied the reports.A witness said he saw 12 military vehicles, but the number of troops was not clear, nor was it clear if they were a vanguard of a larger force or an attempt to protect the porous border from Somalia's Islamic insurgents.
Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Wahde Belay, however, said Tuesday's reports were untrue."That information is false," he said. "Our troops have not returned to Somalia. Our troops are on our side of the border."There have been sporadic reports of Ethiopian troops crossing into Somalia since early this year when Ethiopia pulled out the forces it had sent there in 2006 to restore the U.N.-backed government to power in the capital, Mogadishu. Islamist fighters who had seized the capital along with much of southern Somalia, were outgunned by Ethiopian firepower but began an Iraq-style insurgency...more..http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090519/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia_ethiopia