TPLF regime denies new Somalia incursion claims

Ethiopia denies new Somalia incursion claims
01 Jul 2006
By Tsegaye Tadesse
ADDIS ABABA, July 1 (Reuters) - Ethiopia denied that its troops crossed into Somalia on Saturday to protect the interim government seat of Baidoa from an attack by the powerful Islamists movement.
A member of parliament in Somalia told Reuters that six armoured vehicles from Ethiopia had moved into the Baidoa airport. A Somali intelligence source said the Ethiopian troops were in the town of Berdale, about 60 kms (37 miles) from Baidoa towards the border with Ethiopia.
The Islamists, who took the capital Mogadishu on June 5 and control a large swathe of the country after defeating secular U.S.-backed warlords, have repeatedly said that Ethiopia has sent troops into Somalia.
"Ethiopia denies the allegation by Somalia sources that its troops have crossed the border," Zemedhun Tekle, the spokesman for the Ethiopian ministry of information, told Reuters.
"The allegation is the usual fabrication of the Islamists group aimed at hoodwinking the international community."
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said this week that the Islamists movement was dominated by members of a terrorist group and that Addis Ababa had beefed up its defenses along the border to prevent any threat from the Islamists.
Largely secular Ethiopia has long been wary of the influence of Islam in the region.
The Somali member of parliament said that the Ethiopia troops had moved to the southern city of Baidoa to protect the interim government of President Abdullahi Yusuf.
"The Ethiopians want to protect the government but I think it is aimed at creating a problem between the government and the Islamic Courts," the MP, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
An audio message apparently by Osama bin Laden warned on Saturday against sending international peacekeeping troops to Somalia, which is supported by the African states and the interim government.
Ethiopia said it was working with other regional governments and had no plans to invade Somalia.
"There is no need to take unilateral action unless the Islamists cross the border and enter into Ethiopian territory," Zemedhun said.
(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Nairobi)