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ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia has admitted for the first time its military is fighting opposition Islamist forces in Somalia, but denies seeking to set up a government in its volatile neighbour.
"As of today our defence forces have launched a counter offensive, which is completely legal and proportional, on these anti-peace forces [the Union of Islamic Courts]," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in a broadcast.
"We are not trying to set up a government for Somalia, nor do we have an intention to meddle in Somalian internal affairs. We have only been forced by the circumstances."
His announcement came amid a burgeoning conflict in the Horn of Africa nation, where Addis Ababa has long denied a major military presence beyond trainers and advisers helping Somalia's weak Government.
The Ethiopian Government earlier admitted it had tanks and troops fighting in Somalia, while civilians in the country reported Ethiopian jets had bombarded Islamist positions.
War planes hit the town of Beledweyne and other frontier outposts, residents said, while heavy artillery battles erupted at several towns deeper in Somalia, putting hundreds of civilians to flight.
"The planes targeted infrastructure, Islamic installations like recruitment centres, and a small airstrip," Hussein Muhamoud, a resident of Beledweyne, 30km from the border.
- AFP
