Somalia-Ethiopia troops jointly chase out Islamist insurgents from town

BELETWEIN, Somalia Aug 29 (TF.SF) - A joint force of Somali and Ethiopian government troops have chased out Islamist insurgents from a key town in central Somalia, TF.SF reports.Residents in the town of Beletwein, capital of Hiran region, said a heavily-armed convoy of Ethiopian troops entered the town overnight Friday and reportedly took control of the town without much resistance.Islamist insurgents who controlled the western neighborhoods of Beletwein reportedly fled further south, with confirmed reports saying there were brief skirmishes in the western outskirts of town as the insurgents retreated.Ethiopian troops in Beletwein, SomaliaThe governments of Somalia and Ethiopia have not spoken publicly about new developments in Beletwein, but Addis Ababa has repeatedly denied reports that its troops re-entered Somalia since withdrawing in Jan. 2009 after a two-year military intervention inspired an ongoing Islamist insurgency in south-central Somalia.Beletwein is reportedly calm and allied forces control strategic parts of the town. But town residents feared that Somali-Ethiopian troops might move deeper into Hiran region, where Islamist insurgents have set up defensive positions in Bula Burte district.Somali insurgent factions, Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, have not spoken publicly about the arrival of Ethiopian troops in Beletwein.The insurgents control most districts in Hiran, and many regions in southern Somalia including the key towns of Kismayo, Baidoa, Jowhar, and Marka.The arrival of Ethiopian troops in Beletwein comes a day after Hiran region's pro-government Islamist governor, Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, returned to Beletwein after spending three months in Mogadishu.