Authorities in southwest Somalia said that Ethiopia had sent hundreds of troops into the Gedo region of Somalia to stop al-Shabab extremists from entering Ethiopia.
Ali Yussuf Abdullahi, a spokesman for Gedo’s regional administration, claimed that Ethiopian troops have been arriving in the area since the end of last week and have set up bases in and near the border town of Dolow.
Abdullahi, also known as Ali Juba, spoke with newsmen over the phone on Monday and claimed that the about 2,000 troops had been sent in to combat al-Shabab militants who had begun to amass a sizable fighting force close to the border.
According to Abdullahi, he wanted to inform the people of Somalia that al-Shabab had continued to cause problems in Hiran, Bakol, and Gedo.
Authorities are being affected by the terrorist group’s recent attacks in the Ethiopian border regions.
The Gedo region, particularly the area around Kabas, where al-Shabab terrorists were assembling to conduct an incursion into Ethiopia, was targeted by an Ethiopian airstrike, according to Abdullahi, who was speaking to reporters at the time. He said that the bombing was carried out in collaboration with the military of Ethiopia and the Jubaland state government of Somalia.
When asked if the federal government of Somalia was aware of Ethiopia’s recent non-African Union mission soldier landing in the area, he responded that the administration was aware the troops were headed there to combat the militant group.
Ethiopian military said its security forces killed more than 800 al-Shabab fighters in response to a rare cross-border incursion before deploying troops to Somalia.
24 senior al-Shabab officials were among those slain in recent operations against the terrorist organization, according to the Ethiopian military. Hundreds of al-Shabab fighters engaged in combat with the Liyu police, specialized counterterrorism forces, late last month after crossing the border between Somalia and Ethiopia.
Security officials claim that the gang crossed into Ethiopia at a number of locations from the border towns of Hiran and Bakool in Somalia.
According to American assessments, al-Shabab fighters may have traveled up to 150 kilometers into Ethiopia before being stopped.
Last Monday, the head of Ethiopia’s Somali region declared that Ethiopian military will create a buffer zone inside of Somalia to stop further cross-border attacks by al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab terrorists destroyed the antennae of the local privately owned telecommunications companies following recent suspected Ethiopian military bombings in the Hiran region.
Since 2007, Al-Shabab has been engaged in combat with the Somali government and AU forces. Additionally, it launched fatal assaults in Uganda and the adjacent Kenya.
