Ethiopian jets bomb Somali airports taken by militants

    BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Ethiopian jets dominated Somalia's skies on Monday and bombed the country's two main airports while ground troops captured a strategic border town, providing Somalia's internationally backed government crucial military aid in its struggle against a powerful Islamic militia, media reports said Tuesday.

    The Russian-made jets swept low over the capital at midmorning, dropping two bombs on Mogadishu International Airport, which was just recently reopened after the Islamic takeover of the city. The leader of the Islamic militia, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, flew into the airport shortly after the attack; it was not clear if he was an intended target. Full Story

PM: Ethiopian forces' mission is to "protect Ethiopia from mujahidin threat"

    ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Tuesday the mission of Ethiopian forces is to protect the country from the threat by mujahidin.

    "They pose a very serious threat to us. A clear and present danger as our parliament described it. Our mission is to stop that by degrading their military capability to hurt us. Once we have done that, we have completed our mission," Meles told a press conference. Full Story

Ethiopia: Somalia's UIC fighters retreat in disarray

    ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia said on Tuesday that Somalia' s Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) fighters "were retreating in disarray" because they were unable to resist the offensive by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and the forces of Somalia' s Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

    In a statement available to foreign media here, the Ministry of Information said the attacks launched against the UIC were further intensified in all fronts on Monday. Full Story

Somali Islamists say "at war" with Ethiopia

    BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Somalia's Islamic forces are "at war with Ethiopia," a leader of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) said Thursday.

    "We are at war with Ethiopia, but not with the (Somali) government," the leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, told the media by telephone. 

Somali ambassador warns against spread of war

    ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Somali Ambassador to Ethiopia Abdikarin Farah warned here Sunday that the war in Somalia is likely to spill out of the Horn of Africa country.

    "The war is no longer the war of Somalia, there is a great possibility of spreading across the region," he told journalists. 

EU condemns escalation of conflict in Somalia

    BRUSSELS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) condemned on Sunday the escalation of conflict in Somalia and asked for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

    "I condemn in the strongest terms the escalation of the conflict in Somalia into an all-out war and appeal for all Somali sides to cease immediately all hostilities," said Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, in a statement.

Arab League calls for dialogue to halt fighting in Somalia

    CAIRO, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Cairo-based Arab League (AL)called Sunday on the warring factions in Somalia to halt fighting and return to dialogue.

    AL Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Ahmed bin Hilli made the call in an interview with Dubai-based al-Arabiya news channel.