Thursday, October 11, 2012
by Mohammad Awad
ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia troops and armored vehicles are amassing near the Somali border town of Luq in Gedo in what witnesses told Bikyamasr.com they fear will be a pending battle.
“We are very worried about what is going to happen, but right now we can see a lot of soldiers arriving in pick-up trucks and other military vehicles,” said one resident via phone earlier on Thursday.
Somali national army (SNA) commanders in the area say the Ethiopian troops set up military bases on the suburbs of the town, where they are planning major offensive against the remaining towns and locations controlled by al-Qaeda-linked militants of the al-Shabab militant group.
“The troops made trenches and barricades in a bid to tighten their military grip in the region which is currently a battlefront for Somali government forces and Al Shabaab militants in the past three years,” a resident who asked not to be named, told Shabelle Media Network by phone.
It is unclear if the Somali side is coordinating with Ethiopia in the planned offensive or if the move is a unilateral approach by Addis Ababa in order to eradicate any Shabab fighters near their territory.
Either way, residents are fearful of what comes next. They told Bikyamasr.com that they have no where to run to and the Ethiopian side has closed off any border routes into their neighbor.
“We just wait,” added the resident.