One Ethiopian soldier killed in southern Somalia
Source: Reuters
MOGADISHU, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Attackers killed one Ethiopian soldier and wounded another in the southern Somali port of Kismayu on Thursday, in the latest assault on the interim government's ally in a war to oust rival Islamists. The shootout happened in the main market in Kismayu, the last city the Islamists held before joint Ethiopian-Somali government forces ran them into the nearby bush of Somalia's southern tip at the New Year. "One Ethiopian soldier got killed and another one was wounded when gunmen opened fire at them. We do not know who was behind this act, but we are investigating," lawmaker Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, who is also the regional government administrator, told Reuters by telephone from Kismayu. Kismayu's police chief, Mohamed Abdi, said 36 people were arrested and were being interrogated. The gunfight was the first against Ethiopians in Kismayu, but the latest in a spate of attacks against Ethiopian and government troops across the country -- most of them in the chaotic capital Mogadishu. The allies ran the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) out of the seaside capital and most of southern Somalia in a lighting assault with Ethiopian jets and tanks, that ended the Islamist movement's six-month rule under strict sharia law. Many suspect hardcore Islamist remnants from the two-week war are behind the attacks, but there are many enemies of the government including clan militias and criminals. Besides, Ethiopia for at least a millennium has been a rival of its Horn of Africa neighbour Somalia, and many Somalis are furious that an opponent in two brutal wars in the last 50 years is patrolling the streets and propping up the government. (Additional reporting by Sahal Abdulle)
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