Ethiopia PM admits Somalia action Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has admitted for the first time that his troops are fighting in Somalia. Mr Meles said his country was forced to go to war to defend its sovereignty against what he called terrorists and anti-Ethiopian elements. His troops have been attacking fighters from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in four areas of southern Somalia. The BBC's Amber Henshaw in Addis Ababa says there has been a significant escalation in the conflict. The UIC, which has seized control of much of southern and central Somalia, says Ethiopian troops have been fighting alongside government forces for months. 'Air strikes' Fighting between the transitional government and forces loyal to the UIC now stretches over 400km (250 miles), our correspondent says. "As of today our defence forces have launched a counter-offensive, which is completely legal and proportional, on these anti-peace forces [the UIC]," Mr Zenawi said. "We are not trying to set up a government for Somalia, nor do we have an intention to meddle in Somalian internal affairs. We have only been forced by the circumstances. "We want to end this war urgently and we hope that Ethiopian people stand by the defence forces." Speaking in Addis Ababa, the Somali ambassador, Abdikarin Farah, who represents the transitional government, said it was still ready to negotiate with the UIC. "We are not the people who are pushing the war; we are not the people who are advancing. We are only defending ourselves - that's it. But still the negotiation, it's open and we are ready to have some kind of ceasefire." Ethiopia says its forces have killed hundreds of Islamists, but Ibrahim Hassan Addow, foreign secretary for the UIC, told the BBC the Ethiopians were lying and that his forces were holding their own. Air strikes and shelling have been reported in border areas. Eyewitnesses said Ethiopian fighters were bombarding the UIC-held town of Beledweyne near the border, on the fifth day of renewed fighting. "The enemy of Allah has started bombing our civilians," Sheikh Hassan Derrow told AFP news agency. A resident told AFP: "We see planes striking us and heavy fighting on the ground intensifying." Ethiopia, however, denies that its jets have dropped bombs. The Islamist group - which controls most of the south, including the capital, Mogadishu - on Saturday appealed for foreign fighters to join its troops in a "holy war" against Ethiopia. The UN estimates that at least 8,000 Ethiopian troops may be in the country, while rival Eritrea is said to have deployed some 2,000 troops in support of the Islamic group. However, Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki denied his country had troops deployed in Somalia. bbc.co.uk

Somali journalism is dead!

To those who have expressed an opinion, my intentions are with my maker (al hakim) and so are yours! May we be victorious, amin!

BUMP

Fresh upsurge in Somalia fighting The government is getting military help from Ethiopia Fighting has intensified in Somalia between the Ethiopian-backed interim government and the Islamic militia that controls much of the country. Residents are reporting heavy shelling for the first time near the central town of Bandiradley. Fighting has also continued around Baidoa, where the government is based. The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) has vowed to drive out Ethiopian troops which it says are fighting alongside government forces. On Saturday, the UIC - which controls most of the south, including the capital, Mogadishu - appealed for foreign fighters to join them in the battle with Ethiopia. Ethiopia has not formally acknowledged sending troops to back Somalia's transitional government, but admits sending military trainers. The UN estimates that at least 8,000 Ethiopian troops may be in the country, while rival Eritrea is said to have deployed some 2,000 troops in support of the Islamic group. However, Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki denied his country had troops deployed in Somalia. bbc.co.uk

Shia books spark debate in Sudan By Ahmed Janabi Sudan's Muslims are predominantly Sunni Sudanese Muslim organisations have protested against what they say are attempts by Iran to promote Shia beliefs in the country. At a press conference in Khartoum, Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhamadiya, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Majlis al-Dawa expressed fears of Iranian-backed plans to spread Shia beliefs in Sudan, and demanded an investigation. The dispute started earlier in December, when organisers of the Al-Khartoum Book Exhibition closed the Iranian booth for displaying Shia books which were disparaging towards Aisha, one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad, and his companions. Spokesmen for the three Muslim organisations said they were preparing an official request for an investigation to be launched into how the books found their way on to the exhibition's shelves. Muslim organisations and activists described the books as "hypocritical" and aimed at staining the reputation of the prophet, his family and companions. The organisations also called for the closure of the three Iranian Cultural Centres in Sudan, which they accuse of promoting Shia beliefs in the country. Unwelcome thoughts The Islamic Fiqh Board, an organisation linked to the Sudanese presidency, has issued a statement saying the books have been confiscated because they contained thoughts contradictory to Islam's basic beliefs. Dr Abd al-Hay Yusouf, a member of the Islamic Fiqh Board, told Al Jazeera that the books were brought into the country through the diplomatic mail of the Iranian embassy. He said: "We sensed the real activities of the Iranian cultural centres in Sudan a long time ago, and we warned the government that the centres are dedicated to spread Shia in Sudan, but, unfortunately, they did not listen to us. "There are three Iranian Cultural Centres in Sudan, their Iranian employees move about the country freely, while the Sudanese embassy employees in Iran are not allowed to contact anybody in Iran unless through the Iranian foreign ministry." Openness Ibrahim al-Ansari, the Iranian cultural attache in Sudan, dismissed the allegations of Shia missionary groups, stressing that the Iranian Cultural Centres are open for all Muslim sects. He said: "Our work based on a saying from the Islamic literature 'Believers are brothers'. We are not sectarians and I am a Shia, but I do pray in Sunni mosques. We respect and admire people's beliefs even if they do not agree with ours." The Supreme Council for Co-ordination among Islamic Groups has warned of a widespread Shia missionary operation in Sudan, and said at the press conference in Khartoum on Tuesday that several Sudanese villages have converted to the Shia sect. Yusouf said: "I think it is an exaggeration to say many villages. There is only one village called Um Dam in Kordfan converted to Shia. However, this does mean that we should not underestimate the activities of Shia missionaries in the country." The Persian version of Shia doctrine is based on the belief that Ali, a cousin of Prophet Muhammad and his son-in-law, should have been the first caliph or successor after the prophet's death, and hold Aisha, the prophet's wife and the prophet's companions responsible for depriving Ali of that "right". Sunni Muslims reject the idea and insist that Prophet Muhammad's companions were much more honourable than to plot against the prophet's cousin, and hold those who disparage the prophet's companions as "criminal". Iran maintains cultural centres worldwide, which report directly to the Iranian cultural attaches. Source: AlJazeera

We support the cause and may allah make you victorious, amiin. People, keep this thread at the top of this forum which seems like it has been 'invaded' by Somalis who support Ethiopia and warlordism! Allahu akbar!

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Iyo caano geel to avoid laab dilaac,,,

Iyo fadi carbeed,,,,,,,

I think Suaiya just anounced its actually a day earlier ie on Sat 30th with Arafat on Fri 29th. Heard on radio,,,, I'm trying to have a whole week off, see how it goes.

Muslims need to take part Palestinian dispossession is a reason to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day, not boycott it Salma Yaqoob Thursday December 21, 2006 The Guardian The freedom for Muslims to express their identity in Europe is today under attack. Implicit in this attack is the view that Islam is intrinsically repressive, and embodies values alien to western values of liberty, tolerance and democracy. The memory of the Holocaust stands against such a grossly sanitised view of European history. It reminds us that in the heart of modern Europe the demonisation of a religious and cultural minority culminated in genocide - the mass, industrialised slaughter of European Jews. Why then, with European Muslims subject to attacks reminiscent of the gathering storms of anti-semitism in the first decades of the last century, has Holocaust Memorial Day become such a difficult issue for some British Muslims? One objection has been outlined by Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain. "There have been many further instances of genocide and mass killings since we vowed 'never again' in response to the Nazi crimes," he has pointed out. "Do the innocent killed in those horrific episodes not equally deserve to be commemorated in a more inclusive and aptly titled Genocide Memorial Day?" But it's one thing to argue that Holocaust Memorial Day pays insufficient attention to broader experiences of genocide - quite another to boycott it altogether. Without minimising the impact of other atrocities in recent history, I believe the Holocaust does have a special significance, not only for its brutality, but for the industrial organisation of its genocide. It is significant because it represented the culmination of a political philosophy which labelled Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, Africans and many others as "subhuman". It is significant because of the ambition of its perpetrators to reorganise the globe along lines of racial hierarchy. Fascism is utterly opposed to our most fundamental beliefs about the worth of human beings. And the Holocaust embodies the reality of fascism in power. As fascists once again make political inroads across Europe - increasingly with Muslims as their target - it is all the more necessary that new generations are never allowed to forget that reality. However, for many Muslims, arguments about the specificity of the Holocaust are not the main reason they are uneasy about participation in memorial events. The main reason is Palestine. The way in which Zionists have abused the memory of the Holocaust to bolster support for today's Israeli state and its racist and murderous policies towards the Palestinians repels many Muslims, as well as some anti-Zionist Jews, from participating. In fact, Palestine should not be a reason for boycotting Holocaust Memorial Day, but a reason for participating. As the peace campaigner Uri Avnery, who organised a demonstration against the killing of Palestinian children on last year's Holocaust Memorial Day in Tel Aviv, put it: one of the lessons of the Holocaust is that you must not accept an ideology telling you "that other people are inferior and subhuman" or that loyalty to your country justifies "the occupation of another country and oppression of another people". It is now open season for attacks on Muslims. Hardly a day goes by without another lurid denunciation of the "enemy within". Ruth Kelly is the latest politician to attack those Muslim organisations which refuse to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day. We will not take lectures from a government responsible for the deaths of countless innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan. But refusal to participate in Holocaust memorial events is an own goal. We rightly want to draw attention to those for whom there are no official commemorations, and whose oppression is barely acknowledged; but we have instead allowed ourselves to be further isolated, and allowed the false smear of anti-semitism to be directed at us. Last weekend the Muslim Council of Britain debated participation in Holocaust Memorial Day. This is a step in the right direction, as is its decision to canvass broader Muslim opinion. I am convinced that there is only one decision that is morally and politically sustainable. Participation in this national event in no way legitimises or justifies the dispossession of the Palestinian people - in fact, remembering the lessons of the Holocaust does the very opposite. We should be part of it because there are lessons from history which relate very closely to our experience today. We should be part of it because our refusal merely gives succour to those who peddle prejudice and lies about the Holocaust. And we should be part of it because it is right to remember the millions of our fellow human beings who died at the hands of a racist and supremacist ideology. · Salma Yaqoob is a Birmingham city councillor for Respect and vice-chair of Respect yaqoobsalma@yahoo.co.uk CiF

Iyo shaah bigays,,,

ICU control much of the south and you guys are refering to small battles here and there. ICU have been victors for the past 6 months in case you havnt noticed. Now the question is can they take Baydabo and the surrounding or will they settle for talks. They are the ones who control the south and not the TFG. No waxa la yidi threads/posts will determine the outcome. We all just have to wait and see.

lol, that was no brawl. Anthony made a sucker punch and ran!

I see your hanging onto the Palestian doctor, carry on,,,,,,,

^^looks like you will only get 2 days off ya akhi

Waxad uwada baahantihin some good old hereeri jebis!

Seen

Come on now Duke, i dont think even you believed that one.

Edit You mean Al Jazeera reporting yesterday or today's clashes?

^^What news is that? The peace talks?

Somali rivals agree peace talks Somalia's transitional government and its rivals the Islamic Courts Council have agreed to return to peace talks, according to an EU envoy and government officials. The agreement on Wednesday came after a day of heavy fighting outside Baidoa, the only town the government controls, underlining the difficulties of securing peace in the country. The government's foreign minister said later that while his government wanted talks, it did not believe its rivals did. Ismail Hurre said: "The Islamic Courts want to take control of Somalia through the barrel of the gun. They are not committed to peace. They want war." Political dialogue Louis Michel, the EU humanitarian envoy, said the Islamic Courts had "accepted to engage in political dialogue with the transitional government." Somali government officials said they would also attend talks in Khartoum, Sudan but no date was given. Leaders of the Islamic Courts said they were willing to attend without conditions. The movement had previously said it would not attend talks until Ethiopian troops backing the government withdrew from the country. As he left the Somali capital Mogadishu after a day of negotiaitions, Michel said: "For me this is very significant." Fighting played down Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamic Courts, played down the fighting that had erupted earlier in the day. He said: "This was not full scale war. The fighting was a small incident between the Islamic courts and the Ethiopians, not between us and the government." Somali fighters clashed with artillery, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns as Michel negotiated with the government and the Islamic movement to talk peace. Clashes first erupted 15km from the government garrison town of Baidoa where Michel was meeting with Ali Mohamed Gedi, the Somali prime minister and Abdullahi Yusuf, the president. The fighting took place just a day after an ultimatum by the Islamic Courts for Ethiopian troops backing the transitional government to leave or face a major attack. Al Jazeera said the Islamic Courts had denied reports from Baidoa claiming hundreds of its fighters were killed in heavy fighting there. Late on Tuesday, government troops and Islamic fighters also clashed near Idale, another front-line village northwest of Mogadishu, spokesmen from both sides said. Ten people were killed. Fears of a full-blown civil war have intensified in recent weeks as the government and the Islamic Courts dismissed efforts to schedule peace talks and threatened military action. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Duke, i guess you didnt see the Al Jazeera pictures last night? Please watch the Arabic version.