Saturday, May 22, 2010

Somaliland Border Conflict Kills 13

Three Ethiopian soldiers and 10 residents of Somaliland have been killed as a result of fighting between the two countries. This is thought to be the first time Ethiopian troops have caused this type of conflict within the more peaceful are of Somaliland, known for being more stable than Somalia. Conflict arose after Ethiopian troops held several trucks belonging to villagers, which resulted in the citizens lashing out in anger. More Ethiopian troops have moved in to the self-declared republic of Somaliland after the conflict. "A lot of people are fleeing and we are scared the clashes will continue because the Ethiopians haven't left and militias are getting reinforcements," claims one resident.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10140805.stm


By: Shauntal J Van Dreel

1 comment:

Dayeer said...

The conflict arose because a terrorist militia calling itself SSM attacked an Ethiopian checkpoint (killing two Ethiopian soldiers) which was checking trucks coming from Puntland for contraband and had detained several for carrying such goods, (many dozens of trucks that were not carrying contraband passed through the checkpoint with no problems).

The Ethiopian forces responded to the SSM's attack with overwhelming force and killed 12 of the attackers. For your information, Buhoodle sits on the border between Ethiopia and Somaliland and each side had stepped up border security on their side. This is because both countries are in the middle of an election campaign which the SSM, and its ally the ONLF, have sworn to disrupt through armed attacks.

This is the true story and background to what happened and is happening in Buhoodle.

Dayeer