Posted on 12/26/2006 5:57:49 AM PST by Hadean
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Somalia's Islamists are in full retreat after Ethiopian airstrikes and a ground offensive that have killed up to 1,000 of the religious movement's fighters, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Tuesday.
"A joint Somali government and Ethiopian force has broken the back of the international terrorist forces... These forces are in full retreat," Meles told reporters in Addis Ababa, adding that up to 1,000 Islamist fighters had been killed.
"A few are Somali but the majority are foreigners," he said of the dead.
Addis Ababa has vowed to protect Somalia's weak interim government from rival Islamists based in Mogadishu. A week of artillery and mortar duels between the two sides has spiraled into open war that both sides say has killed hundreds.
Meles said most fighters of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) had fled to their home areas. He said Ethiopian forces were now hunting down troops from his arch-foe Eritrea, which he accuses of supporting the Islamists.
"The only forces we are pursuing are Eritreans who are hiding behind the skirts of Somali women, and terrorist mujahideen," Meles said.
Ethiopia says the SICC has recruited foreign jihadists, and that a handful of almost 300 prisoners taken after one battle for a central Somali town held British passports.
Meles said he had sent between 3,000 and 4,000 Ethiopian troops into Somalia, but denied they were occupiers. He said it was a small force, but carried a lot of firepower.
"Our military is skirting the towns and attacking only military bases," he said.
"We have already completed half our mission, and as soon as we finish the second half, our troops will leave Somalia."
He said he had information 3,000 wounded had been taken to hospital in the Islamist stronghold Mogadishu. But he said there were few civilian casualties because most of the fighting had taken place away from settlements.
A good start. I hope (and it indeed appears) that the Ethiopians don't give a crap for political correctness or hurted feelings. They are fighting the war, as we should do it aswell.
Interesting, a new front in the war on Islam. Hopefully, the Ethiopians won't spend a lot of time hand-wringing over what the Euroweenies think.
Destroy anything that looks like a mosque and shoot anyone you see kneeling to the east.
Any chance of getting Ethiopia to join the coalition in Iraq?
In one of these:
I know what you mean but better leave them out. Lest them have to comply to our defeatist crazy standards and rules of engagement.
Shameless Plug
Somalia is Invaded
Strategypage ^ | 12/26/06
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758483/posts
Posted on 12/26/2006 7:25:12 AM CST by Valin
December 26, 2006: As expected, Ethiopian troops drove Islamic Courts fighters from several towns around Baidoa. The Islamic Courts can harass the Ethiopians, but they cannot stop them. The Islamic Courts don't have an army, but rather a collection of warlord and tribal militias. They also ahve several hundred foreign Islamic radicals. Some of these guys have military training, and they are much more motivated. Actually, many Somalis are motivated to resist Ethiopian invasions, but in a straight up fight, the Somalis are at a disadvantage. The Ethiopians are better trained, armed and led. While the Somalis have a reputation for being fierce warriors, the Ethiopians are that too, and for several thousand years they fought off all comers and got organized as well. But in the last half century, the Ethiopians have learned military discipline. The Ethiopians have defeated the Somalis before, and the province bordering Somalia, known as the Ogaden, is largely populated by ethnic Somalis. While the Ethiopians can be pretty brutal to unruly subjects, they have never wanted to control all of Somalia. That's because the Somalis are a really tough bunch to rule. The Somalis can't even rule themselves, and except for a few decades in the late 20th century, never have. For thousands of years, "Somalia" was a region occupied by Somali tribes (called "clans" today) that constantly fought each other, and any outsiders who wandered by.
(snip)
Thought you wouldn't want to miss this.
Go Ethiopia.
Deck the halls.... more Christmas cheer.
This must stop - why didn't they go topthe UN and ask Kofi for his well-regarded leadership? Where is France? Germany? Those poor Islamofascist are not represented - where is the ACLU?
"Islamists"? Reuters uses that word to describe them? Interesting. Do we have Islamists in Iraq, in Afghanistan? Or just Somalia?
Great news! Outstanding FReeper comments BUMP!
According to the media in Iraq we have insurgents, resistance and rebels.
In Afghanistan we fight militants and warriors.
Hah! Glad that's cleared up. We wouldn't want anyone to think that any of these actions worldwide have anything to do with some guy hiding in a cave who caused 9/11. ;-)
Good start... while the demorats sleep with each other. I hope Bush gets his generals in on this.
And I guess we support muslim Eritrea, not Christian Ethiopia, as usual.
Who are the pirates off the Horn of Africa?
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