Somalian leader urges Ethiopia revolt

Somalian leader urges Ethiopia revolt
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN
Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A senior leader of the Islamic militants who control much of southern Somalia urged people in neighboring Ethiopia on Monday to revolt against their government, calling it an oppressive regime led by an unpopular minority group.
Tensions between Ethiopia and the Islamic radicals have been mounting in recent months with reports that Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia to support the country's weak government. So far they have avoided direct clashes, but the rhetoric on both sides has been fiery, raising fears of a conflict that could engulf the Horn of Africa region.
"I dare you to come and fight us. Do not just run," Islamic leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys said in a challenge to Ethiopia. He was addressing thousands of Somalis gathered in the capital, Mogadishu, to celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
"We urge Ethiopian people, who are not part of this aggression against Somalia, to revolt against and remove the oppressive regime led by (Ethiopia Prime Minister) Meles Zenawi," a senior Islamic leader, Sheik Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said at the same event.
Somalia's Islamic leaders made similar calls in other towns, threatening to drive Ethiopian forces from Baidoa, the only town the Somali government controls, about 150 miles from Mogadishu.
Ethiopia, whose population of 77 million is nearly half Muslim, is fearful of a fundamentalist state developing next door. It consistently has denied that its forces are in Somalia, but Meles acknowledged Thursday that his troops were training Somali government forces.
Eritrea, which fought a border war with Ethiopia that ended in 2000, is accused of providing military support to the Islamic group.
Aweys' comments came as Somali government troops withdrew from Bur Haqaba, a strategic hilltop town they had taken over with the help of Ethiopian troops two days earlier, a resident said.
Islamic officials said they re-entered the town Monday morning after the government forces had pulled out. Militia leader Mohammed Ibrahim Bilal said an Islamic court would be established there and the town would become one of his movement's biggest bases.
One government soldier who remained was shot and killed by the militia, resident Ahmed Osman told The Associated Press by telephone. Officials were not immediately available to comment.
Meanwhile, in Mogadishu, the Islamic courts opened their own official radio station, Voice of Somalia, on Monday. Officials said it would be used to "educate Somalis about what is right and what is wrong."
International media groups have accused the Islamic group of suppressing some media freedom in the war-ravaged country.
Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy. The current government was formed in 2004 with U.N. help in hopes of restoring order.
It has never asserted much authority, and the Islamic group, trying to fill the power vacuum, seized control of much southern Somalia in June. Its strict and often severe interpretation of Islam raises the specter of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime.
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Associated Press writers Nasteex Dahir Farah in Kismayo and Salad Duhul and Mohamed Sheik Nor in Mogadishu contributed to this report.