Monday, December 25, 2006

Ethiopia pushes deeper into Somalia =Posted by +Peta-de-Aztlan+

12-25-06 @5:00 PM
Feliz Navidad ~ ON this Christmas Day let us give a new re-birth into our individual and collective consciousness of a truly humane liberated consciousness with a shared history, natural bond and common destiny with all peoples who endure sufferings under unjust governments and whose sufferings in many ways continue because of our own lack of caring, lack of loving and lack of humaneness.
Get involved in life and the core social issues of these times!

Do not only care and identity with those of a similiar skin color, cultural identity and shared tongue. See the common humanity among all of humanekind and act in accordance with the new humane consciousness of a common humanity.
Whenever and wherever any innocent soul suffers in Somalia we ourselves are impacted whether we are conscious or it or not.
One Nation, One Somalia, One future!
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In the end, those of us who survive it all, perhaps not us as lone individuals, but our own bloodline descendants, will see that indeed we were all one people upon one planet under one Creator all along all this time.
We will see the evilness of false divisions that keep the masses divided based mindlessly upon racial stock, national origin or cultural background.
All human beings share the same basic survival needs and when seen in the big picture we should all have the basic humane rights agenda not separated by websites, fluttering flags or superficial colors.
We will all be free and live out our lives in freedom or this entire planet will be leveled out by our genuine attempts at freedom.

We want freedom by any means mandatory in the face of mass fear, mass apathy and mass ignorance!

FInd your true love, burning faith and armed courage in waging people's war for total liberation!
Libertad O Muerte! +Peta-de-Aztlan+
Sacramento, Califas, Aztlan
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UPDATED ON:
MONDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2006
15:39 MECCA TIME, 12:39 GMT
Ethiopia pushes deeper into Somalia
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The Islamic courts say they have killed
hundreds of Ethiopian fighters [Reuters]
Thousands of Ethiopian troops, backed by aircraft, artillery and tanks, have escalated a military offensive against fighters from the Islamic Courts Union.
The Ethiopians, backing fighters loyal to Somalia's internationally recognised - but largely powerless - interim government, captured the town of Baladweyne on Monday.

They also bombed airports to prevent the courts from rearming and moved further into courts-held territory.
Yusuf Dabo Geed, a Somali government officer, said: "We have taken control of Baladweyne and our forces are chasing the terrorists.




"We call on the international community to act soon about this violation"
Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, Islamic courts commander
"We have killed more than 60 Islamists, wounded others and captured some as prisoners of war."
Baladweyne is 100km north of Baidoa, seat of the transitional government.
The offensive came after thousands of Ethiopian soldiers prevented the Islamist Courts Union from surrounding and capturing Baidoa, the only major city under government control.
Following their defeat in Baladweyne, leaders of the Islamic courts called on the Ethiopian troops to withdraw.
Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, a senior Islamic commander, said: "We call on the international community to act soon about this violation."
Both sides have reported killing hundreds of their opponents in the recent fighting, but the claims could not be independently confirmed.
Ethiopia bombs airports
Baidoa is the only major town controlled by Somlia's interim government
Also on Monday, Ethiopian fighter jets bombed the airports of Mogadishu, the Islamist-held capital, and Baledogle, Somalia's largest military airfield 100km to the west.
Ibrahim Hassan Adow, the foreign secretary of the Islamic Courts Union, told Al Jazeera that the bombing of Mogadishu by Ethiopian MiG aircraft injured two people, one of whom was a cleaner.
"Ethiopian attacks against Somalia have no limits. It seems the entire world is silent about it."
Ethiopia said it bombed the airport in order to halt the supply of arms to the courts.
Solomon Abede, the Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman, said: "It was attacked because illegal flights were attempting to land there.
"It was also reported that some of the extremists were waiting for an airlift out of Mogadishu."
In November, a UN arms-monitoring group reported that flights originating in Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Djibouti and Syria landed in Mogadishu and Baledogle.
The UN and the Somali government said that many of the flights carried arms and military supplies for the Islamic Courts. The US has also been accused of funding and arming those fighting for the government.
Border closed
The Islamic courts guard Mogadishu's
airport after the air raid [Reuters]
The Somali government said that it was closing the country's borders.
This is little more than a symbolic measures as the government controls little more than the town of Baidoa while the country's long borders are largely unmarked.
However, aid agencies said they feared that the measure would hamper their attempts to send food and medical supplies into the poverty-stricken country.
The UN World Food Programme airlifted more than 14 tons of food into Somalia on Monday, but had not yet been notified of any border closures, Peter Smerdon, an agency spokesman, said.
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EU Condemns Escalating Fighting In Somalia
The European Union's Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, condemned Monday the escalating battles in Somalia.

Speaking in Brussels, he said, "I express my deepest concern on the reported involvement of foreign forces in Somalia and urge all external players to refrain immediately from intervening militarily in Somali affairs and provoke further violence."

The recent battles have been particularly bad for the civilian population. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes.

Ethiopia declared war on Somalia's Islamists late Sunday, saying it was defending itself from the group which controls much of the Horn of Africa country.
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US Urges Halt to Somali Conflict
By Michael Bowman
Washington
25 December 2006
Bowman report - Download 410k audio clip
Listen to Bowman report audio clip

The Bush administration is urging a halt to conflict in Somalia that has
Islamic Court fighters wait at the airport of Mogadishu, Somalia, 25 Dec 2006
Islamic Court fighters wait at the airport of Mogadishu, Somalia, 25 Dec 2006
intensified since neighboring Ethiopia launched air strikes on the country's two main airports and sent ground troops into Somali territory. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, Ethiopia's military intervention is aimed at propping up the weak Somali government, which is challenged by a powerful Islamic militia.
The State Department says the United States is concerned by the deteriorating security situation in Somalia, and by the humanitarian impact of the fighting. A State Department spokesperson told VOA that Somali civilians should be protected, and that the United States is urging all Somali parties to cease hostile actions.
There was no mention of Ethiopia's role in the conflict.
However, the spokesperson said the United States encourages all sides to return to the negotiating table to find a solution that will bring peace and security to Somalia and the region, mirroring earlier statements from the European Union as well as the Arab League.
Despite a decades-old border dispute between the two countries, Ethiopia and Somalia's interim government have formed a de facto military alliance to confront an Islamist militia that has seized large swaths of territory in the strife-ridden nation long dominated by warlords. Officials in largely Christian Ethiopia say they entered the conflict after Somali Islamists declared a holy war against their nation.
Ethiopian air strikes have prompted an angry response from the Islamic Courts' leadership. Deputy Chairman Abdirahman Janaqow spoke with reporters in Mogadishu.
He said, "Ethiopian air forces have aggressively targeted Mogadishu airport, wounding one woman. It is a cowardly attack. I urge the Somali people to be very alert and refrain from gathering together in one place, because the enemy may target you."
News reports from Somalia say Ethiopian-backed Somali troops have pushed Islamist forces from a border region between the two countries. Abdirahman Dinari, a spokesman for the Somali government, said, "From now on, we have closed the airports and the port, and there will be no access without permission from the Federal government of Somalia. Neighboring countries should help us on this issue. We are appealing to the people of Somalia to remain calm and work with the government."
The government wants to prevent foreign fighters from crossing into Somalia to help the Islamists.
The conflict is taking a heavy toll on civilians. At a refugee camp in the southern Somali port city of Kismayo, relief worker Dhakale Adam cited an urgent need for international assistance.
He said, "We have no food and no shelter in this camp. Three children have died. Old people are most vulnerable, and we desperately need help."
Militia leaders have expressed a desire to form a greater eastern African Islamist state, incorporating Islamic communities from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya.
Somalia's warring factional leaders signed a peace accord in early 2004, ending 13 years of conflict and paving the way for a United Nations-backed interim government and legislature. But the government has little power outside its headquarters in the town of Baidoa.
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Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta
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