Friday, August 20, 2010

Ethiopian troops back in Somalia will worsen situation



Ethiopia back in Somalia

Ethiopian’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said he would send the soldiers in the unlikely scenario if the African Union's mission in Somalia (AMISOM) who is battling Islamist insurgents needs rescue.
If Ethiopia force goes back to Somalia, the Islamist rebels may get reinforcement from Somali community in the country and outside for the longtime historic conflicts Ethiopia and Somalia.
Ethiopia invaded the Horn of Africa nation in 2006 to oust the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) which controlled southern Somalia but withdrew under a UN-backed peace deal early in 2009.
Its after the US backed Ethiopia invasion that the UIC decalred a holy war on Ethopia.
It's been almost two decades since U.S troops were forced out of Somalia after the "Black Hawk Down" battle. Now, the U.S. is backing a push by African states to add troops to combat Somali militants.

But Somalia experts who have watched violence spin in circles for nearly 20 years are warning that more troops will not bring peace, and will encounter fierce resistance from the dangerous militant group that claimed deadly twin bombings in Uganda last month.
According to the International Crisis Group, Analyst for the Horn of Africa, Military approaches have only helped to radicalize more youths and exacerbate fundamentalism in Somalia," he said. "The international community needs to realize that itscurrent and previous policies on Somalia have largely strengthened religious extremism and Somalis' distrust of the West."

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