Battle of Baidoa
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Baidoa began on December 20, 2006 when the Somali Transitional Federal Government
's forces (TFG) allied with Ethiopian forces
stationed there attacked advancing Islamic Courts Union (ICU) forces along with 500 alleged Eritrea
n troops and mujahideen
arrayed against them.
The battle began with most reports hourly depicting the government forces defecting and its position on the verge of collapse. The TFG, along with its allies in the Juba Valley Alliance
(JVA), had certainly been on the retreat since the June offensives of the ICU. By the opening of the battle in December, Baidoa was invested with attacks coming in at least three directions.
Strong Ethiopian reinforcements rapidly changed the battle from one in which the TFG was on the defensive, through a strong series of counterattacks, to an Ethiopian/TFG decisive victory. Ethiopian armor, artillery, and air forces proved instrumental against the ICU's militia-based army.
where the Islamists claimed to have taken the government's military base in Daynuunay. The conflict thereafter moved north to the Islamist stronghold in Moode Moode Heavy weapons, including artillery, rockets and mortars were involved. Initial claims of casualties in this area were at least ten dead ICU militiamen and forty TFG soldiers wounded. Later claims of ICU casualties by the TFG were 71 Islamic soldiers dead and 221 injured, including two dead foreign fighters. The TFG claimed its own casualties were 3 dead and 7 wounded while the ICU claimed to have killed 7 government soldiers.
Fighting was reported on many fronts around the capital in Iidale village (55 km south of Baidoa), Buulo Jadid (23 km north of Baidoa, also spelled Bullo Jadid), and Manaas (30 km southwest of Baidoa). One TFG death and numerous injured civilians were reported in Iidale. A later report raised the casualties to three soldiers killed and two injured. Thirteen trucks filled with Ethiopian reinforcements were reported en route to the fighting.
An AFP report mentioned the TFG claimed the attack on Iidale was led by Abu Taha al-Sudan
, who is "wanted by Washington for carrying out attacks against its embassies in east Africa in 1998 and against an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya in 2002
."
This report raised the death toll from the artillery duel in Iidale to 12, and added that the government captured 30 "armed vehicles" (presumably technicals
). It also contradicted the fall of Daynuunay to the ICU: "'The fighting is so fierce, but government forces are still controlling Daynuunay,' said Issak Adan Mursaley, a resident in Deynunay."
Meanwhile, an EU peace-brokering commission led by Louis Michel
landed at Baidoa and then Mogadishu to meet respectively with the TFG and ICU representatives. Discussions yielded the agreement to meet in Khartoum
, Sudan
at an unspecified future date.
In Dadaab
, Kenya
, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Wendy Chamberlin
, said camps there accounted for 34,000 refugees fleeing the fighting and floods in Somalia, but that number is expected to grow to 80,000 if fighting continues. The World Food Programme
(WFP) is attempting to provide relief, but floods and mud have hampered ground transportation.
Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, speaking for the ICU, claimed fighting was going its way in Iidale and Buulo Jadid, saying they captured two technicals, killed nine soldiers, and had taken prisoners in the fighting.
President Adde Muse claimed ICU casualties were heavy in the fighting around Baidoa, sustaining 75 dead and 125 wounded, along with the loss of 30 vehicles burned or captured.
Also reported on the 21st, fighting in Iidale and Daynuunay was said to have started the prior morning and continued through the next day. No end to the fighting seemed imminent, as both sides continued to gather reinforcements. Casualty figures were unavailable, but the numbers were expected to be in the hundreds easily. The report went on to refute the ICU claim of victory, and stated that the government was again in possession of Iidale and had killed foreign fighters. The government also captured dozens of Islamist students who took up arms, sufficient in quantity to fill three lorries.
Sketchy, unattributed and unconfirmable reports stated Baidoa was on the "brink of collapse," and put the odds of fighters in the battle at 10-to-1 in favor of the ICU, with unconfirmed reports that the ICU are being provided with "high-tech weaponry, trainers and even fighters from many Muslim countries and Eritrea".
Contrary to ICU claims, the TFG said it was advancing. Reports put TFG troops in Safar Noles, on the approaches to Dinsoor
.
Nearly 20 Ethiopian tanks were seen heading toward the front line. According to government sources Ethiopia has 20 T-55
tanks and four attack helicopters in Baidoa. The tanks were reported to be splitting into two groups heading towards fighting in Daynuunay and Iidale. Ethiopia may have as many as 50 tanks and other armored vehicles in the country.
Civilian casualties were reported as dozens killed and over 200 wounded.
To the north, in Mudug
, 500 Ethiopian troops with eight tanks and 30 pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns were headed for Bandiradley, an Islamic Courts stronghold in central Somalia, according to witnesses and Islamic Courts officials. The Council of Islamic Courts said they would send ground troops to attack on Saturday, instead of fighting from a distance with heavy weapons as they have been doing so far. "Our troops have not started to attack. From tomorrow the attack will start," said Ibrahim Shukri Abuu-Zeynab, an Islamic Courts spokesman.
A TFG press release stated a unit of 500 Eritrean troops with artillery and other heavy weapons had reinforced Burhakaba
. It claimed TFG troops had successfully destroyed an ICU force in Dinsoor, killing all the commanders, forcing the rest to surrender, and resulting in five foreign fighters committing suicide rather than face capture.
Nineteen bodies of Islamic fighters were found in Moode Moode by an Associated Press
photographer. Reports that the ICU is forcing people to fight in Baidoa are claimed by a captured Islamic fighter.
The Council of Islamic Courts leader said that Somalia was in "a state of war" with the TFG
and Ethiopia.
, particularly at Iidale and Dinsoor; approximately 60 and 120 kilometres south of Baidoa respectively. Iidale was reportedly captured by the Islamists.
Somali Information Minister of the TFG, Ali Jama, quoted that "The combined total from two fronts is over 500 Islamists killed since Wednesday,". He later went on to report that most of those that were killed were children sent by the ICU to fight in the fronts east and south of Baidoa.
The ICU vowed all out war against the Ethiopia
n-backed transitional government, with Islamic commander Hassan Bullow stating that "This war is a religious obligation and we are here to fight for our religion against the enemies until we die." Islamic officials scorned the African Union and Arab League for doing nothing, saying "The world is silent today while Ethiopian forces are killing us inside our country, but tomorrow when we defeat them and chase them things will be changed, we will enter their territories and at that moment the world will shout".
One resident saw Islamist fighters pushing toward Daynunay, the government's forward military base about 20 km (12.4 mi) southeast of its encircled base at Baidoa.
"This morning, I heard sounds of rockets being fired from the frontline," Hassan Yusuf added. He said he saw three dead Ethiopian soldiers taken by Islamist fighters to a village close to Daynunay on Friday, while wounded Islamist fighters were being treated in nearby Buur Hakaba.
Islamists, for the first time, called upon international fighters to join their cause stating "We're saying our country is open to Muslims worldwide. Let them fight in Somalia and wage jihad, and God willing, attack Addis Ababa
".
ICU defense chief, Sheik Yusuf Mohammed Siad Indho-adde, made a world-wide appeal for jihadists to come to Somalia, and claimed the ICU had taken Tiyoglow, Bakol province. Independent journalists were also shown that Iidale had been taken by the ICU, where they were shown bodies of Ethiopian troops. The TFG denied the claims as "cheap propaganda."
The International Committee of the Red Cross
expressed their concern over those caught up in the fighting, quoting the figure of 200 wounded fighters being brought into hospitals on both sides.
TFG Defence Minister Barre Shire Hirale claimed to have retaken Iidale after a clash in which over 100 were killed.
In Kismayo, 1,000 men were said to be leaving for the battle, presumably to fight on behalf of the ICU.
Ethiopian airstrikes hit targets across Somalia, including Dinsoor
and Burhakaba
in the Bay region as part of the counter-offensive in the battle. To the north, Bandiradley
in Mudug
and Beledweyne
in Hiiran
were also struck.
TFG Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jele stated government forces had advanced within three kilometers of Bur-Hakaba and were poised to re-capture the town.
A Somalian website claimed that thousands of angry people rallied in the capital of Mogadishu in protest of the Ethiopian air strikes. The people took to the streets of Mogadishu, forcing business centers to close down and send militia to the front. It also claimed that hundreds of volunteers were registering to join the Islamists.
Ethiopian forces were reported to have taken both Beledweyne
and Buuloburde in Hiran, with unconfirmed reports that "hundreds of Ethiopian tanks" were moving along the road towards Jowhar
. This presents a threat of a major flanking of ICU positions in Tiyoglow and Burhakaba
by striking towards the Middle Shabelle
area. The Ethiopian forces were accompanied by Somali warlord Mohamed Omar Habeb 'Mohamed Dhere,' who wished to reestablish his control over Jowhar.
Ethiopian forces had also reportedly encircled both Dinsoor and Burhakaba. Fighting had advanced near Dinsoor to Rama-Addey. The TFG asserted it was within a few kilometers of capturing Burhakaba.
The ICU's "commando-type arm" under the command of veteran of Afghanistan, Adan Ayrow was said to be giving stiff resistance. Yet late in the day, fighting was reported within Dinsoor itself. Dinsoor resident Mohammed Hassan reported that Ethiopian forces had taken the town.
after the Islamists vacated it. An Ethiopian government spokesman also confirmed that Ethiopian troops also arrived in Dinsoor
unopposed. Despite this, local militamen were seen by witnesses to be stealing boxes of food and medicine, further hampering any humanitarian efforts
. Airstrikes also continued, this time on Leego, just east of Burhakaba
. Three people were reportedly killed in the space of thirty minutes.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi
, announced Ethiopia would likely withdraw its troops within a few weeks. He said their main goal was to damage the ICU's military capabilities, sense of invincibility and ensure a more balanced setting for peace talks. The United States
also announced it would support Ethiopian military operations, saying the country has "genuine security concerns," although it was unclear in what capacity the US would support the nation. The United Nations envoy to Somalia has urged an end to the fighting, and Qatar
, the current President of the UN Security Council, has proposed a draft statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of all international forces. Other nations, such as the US, Britain, France, and Russia, have objected to the statement, saying peace talks and agreement are necessary before troops can withdraw.
Transitional Federal Parliament
The Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic is an interim Parliament of Somalia formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004.The Transitional Federal Parliament has 550 members representing Somalia's clans, Islamist opposition, representatives of citizens' groups and the Somali...
's forces (TFG) allied with Ethiopian forces
Military of Ethiopia
The Ethiopian National Defense Force is the military of Ethiopia. Civil direction of the military is carried out through the Ministry of Defense, which oversees the ground forces, air force, as well as the Defense Industry Sector. The current defense minister is Siraj Fergessa. . Size of the ENDF...
stationed there attacked advancing Islamic Courts Union (ICU) forces along with 500 alleged Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
n troops and mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
arrayed against them.
The battle began with most reports hourly depicting the government forces defecting and its position on the verge of collapse. The TFG, along with its allies in the Juba Valley Alliance
Juba Valley Alliance
The Juba Valley Alliance is a political faction of the Somali Civil War. It was the primary opponent of the Somali Patriotic Movement and the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council vying for the control of Kismayo and the Juba River valley, the area known as Jubaland.Following the...
(JVA), had certainly been on the retreat since the June offensives of the ICU. By the opening of the battle in December, Baidoa was invested with attacks coming in at least three directions.
Strong Ethiopian reinforcements rapidly changed the battle from one in which the TFG was on the defensive, through a strong series of counterattacks, to an Ethiopian/TFG decisive victory. Ethiopian armor, artillery, and air forces proved instrumental against the ICU's militia-based army.
December 20, 2006
On December 20, heavy shooting broke out between Somali government troops and Islamists 25 km (15.5 mi) southeast of BaidoaBaidoa
Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....
where the Islamists claimed to have taken the government's military base in Daynuunay. The conflict thereafter moved north to the Islamist stronghold in Moode Moode Heavy weapons, including artillery, rockets and mortars were involved. Initial claims of casualties in this area were at least ten dead ICU militiamen and forty TFG soldiers wounded. Later claims of ICU casualties by the TFG were 71 Islamic soldiers dead and 221 injured, including two dead foreign fighters. The TFG claimed its own casualties were 3 dead and 7 wounded while the ICU claimed to have killed 7 government soldiers.
Fighting was reported on many fronts around the capital in Iidale village (55 km south of Baidoa), Buulo Jadid (23 km north of Baidoa, also spelled Bullo Jadid), and Manaas (30 km southwest of Baidoa). One TFG death and numerous injured civilians were reported in Iidale. A later report raised the casualties to three soldiers killed and two injured. Thirteen trucks filled with Ethiopian reinforcements were reported en route to the fighting.
An AFP report mentioned the TFG claimed the attack on Iidale was led by Abu Taha al-Sudan
Abu Taha al-Sudan
Abu Taha Al-Sudan was a suspected member of Al Qaeda terrorist organization, reported to be an explosives expert....
, who is "wanted by Washington for carrying out attacks against its embassies in east Africa in 1998 and against an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya in 2002
Kenyan hotel bombing
The 2002 Mombasa attacks refer to an Israeli-owned hotel and a plane belonging to an Israeli airline in Mombasa, Kenya that were targeted on 28 November 2002. A red all-terrain vehicle crashed through a barrier outside the Paradise Hotel and blew up when it hit the lobby. Also two surface-to-air...
."
This report raised the death toll from the artillery duel in Iidale to 12, and added that the government captured 30 "armed vehicles" (presumably technicals
Technical (fighting vehicle)
A technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability similar to a military gun truck...
). It also contradicted the fall of Daynuunay to the ICU: "'The fighting is so fierce, but government forces are still controlling Daynuunay,' said Issak Adan Mursaley, a resident in Deynunay."
Meanwhile, an EU peace-brokering commission led by Louis Michel
Louis Michel
Louis H. O. Ch. Michel is a Belgian politician. He served in the government of Belgium as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 and was European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid from 2004 to 2009. Since 2009, he has been a Member of the European Parliament...
landed at Baidoa and then Mogadishu to meet respectively with the TFG and ICU representatives. Discussions yielded the agreement to meet in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
at an unspecified future date.
In Dadaab
Dadaab
Dadaab is a semi-arid town in the North Eastern Province in Kenya. As of 2011, it hosts what is often described as the largest refugee camp in the world.-General:...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Wendy Chamberlin
Wendy Chamberlin
Wendy Chamberlin is a veteran diplomat who has served in the United States Department of State and USAID, worked for the UN High Commissioner on Refugees , and now serves as President of the Middle East Institute.- US Department of State :...
, said camps there accounted for 34,000 refugees fleeing the fighting and floods in Somalia, but that number is expected to grow to 80,000 if fighting continues. The World Food Programme
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
(WFP) is attempting to provide relief, but floods and mud have hampered ground transportation.
Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, speaking for the ICU, claimed fighting was going its way in Iidale and Buulo Jadid, saying they captured two technicals, killed nine soldiers, and had taken prisoners in the fighting.
December 21, 2006
On December 21, PuntlandPuntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
President Adde Muse claimed ICU casualties were heavy in the fighting around Baidoa, sustaining 75 dead and 125 wounded, along with the loss of 30 vehicles burned or captured.
Also reported on the 21st, fighting in Iidale and Daynuunay was said to have started the prior morning and continued through the next day. No end to the fighting seemed imminent, as both sides continued to gather reinforcements. Casualty figures were unavailable, but the numbers were expected to be in the hundreds easily. The report went on to refute the ICU claim of victory, and stated that the government was again in possession of Iidale and had killed foreign fighters. The government also captured dozens of Islamist students who took up arms, sufficient in quantity to fill three lorries.
Sketchy, unattributed and unconfirmable reports stated Baidoa was on the "brink of collapse," and put the odds of fighters in the battle at 10-to-1 in favor of the ICU, with unconfirmed reports that the ICU are being provided with "high-tech weaponry, trainers and even fighters from many Muslim countries and Eritrea".
December 22, 2006
By December 22, TFG refuted assertions of collapse when it claimed to have inflicted 700 casualties on the ICU. The ICU claimed to have killed more than 200 government troops.Contrary to ICU claims, the TFG said it was advancing. Reports put TFG troops in Safar Noles, on the approaches to Dinsoor
Dinsoor
-Overveiw:It was founded in 1805, when a group of nomads constructed a water well near a mountain area called Bug. It is the fourth largest city in the Bay province.Dinsoor has one local airport called Mecca Boqol...
.
Nearly 20 Ethiopian tanks were seen heading toward the front line. According to government sources Ethiopia has 20 T-55
T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
tanks and four attack helicopters in Baidoa. The tanks were reported to be splitting into two groups heading towards fighting in Daynuunay and Iidale. Ethiopia may have as many as 50 tanks and other armored vehicles in the country.
Civilian casualties were reported as dozens killed and over 200 wounded.
To the north, in Mudug
Mudug
Mudug is an administrative region in north-central Somalia. Bordered by the Ogaden, the Somalian regions of Nugaal and Galguduud, and the Indian Ocean, its capital is the city of Galkacyo.-Districts:...
, 500 Ethiopian troops with eight tanks and 30 pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns were headed for Bandiradley, an Islamic Courts stronghold in central Somalia, according to witnesses and Islamic Courts officials. The Council of Islamic Courts said they would send ground troops to attack on Saturday, instead of fighting from a distance with heavy weapons as they have been doing so far. "Our troops have not started to attack. From tomorrow the attack will start," said Ibrahim Shukri Abuu-Zeynab, an Islamic Courts spokesman.
A TFG press release stated a unit of 500 Eritrean troops with artillery and other heavy weapons had reinforced Burhakaba
Buurhakaba
-Overview:Burhakaba is the largest town in the region, with a reported population of 28,000 people. The town is named after a large hill that surrounds it.-References:*...
. It claimed TFG troops had successfully destroyed an ICU force in Dinsoor, killing all the commanders, forcing the rest to surrender, and resulting in five foreign fighters committing suicide rather than face capture.
Nineteen bodies of Islamic fighters were found in Moode Moode by an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
photographer. Reports that the ICU is forcing people to fight in Baidoa are claimed by a captured Islamic fighter.
The Council of Islamic Courts leader said that Somalia was in "a state of war" with the TFG
Transitional Federal Parliament
The Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic is an interim Parliament of Somalia formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004.The Transitional Federal Parliament has 550 members representing Somalia's clans, Islamist opposition, representatives of citizens' groups and the Somali...
and Ethiopia.
December 23, 2006
Fighting continued in and around BaidoaBaidoa
Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....
, particularly at Iidale and Dinsoor; approximately 60 and 120 kilometres south of Baidoa respectively. Iidale was reportedly captured by the Islamists.
Somali Information Minister of the TFG, Ali Jama, quoted that "The combined total from two fronts is over 500 Islamists killed since Wednesday,". He later went on to report that most of those that were killed were children sent by the ICU to fight in the fronts east and south of Baidoa.
The ICU vowed all out war against the Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n-backed transitional government, with Islamic commander Hassan Bullow stating that "This war is a religious obligation and we are here to fight for our religion against the enemies until we die." Islamic officials scorned the African Union and Arab League for doing nothing, saying "The world is silent today while Ethiopian forces are killing us inside our country, but tomorrow when we defeat them and chase them things will be changed, we will enter their territories and at that moment the world will shout".
One resident saw Islamist fighters pushing toward Daynunay, the government's forward military base about 20 km (12.4 mi) southeast of its encircled base at Baidoa.
"This morning, I heard sounds of rockets being fired from the frontline," Hassan Yusuf added. He said he saw three dead Ethiopian soldiers taken by Islamist fighters to a village close to Daynunay on Friday, while wounded Islamist fighters were being treated in nearby Buur Hakaba.
Islamists, for the first time, called upon international fighters to join their cause stating "We're saying our country is open to Muslims worldwide. Let them fight in Somalia and wage jihad, and God willing, attack Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
".
ICU defense chief, Sheik Yusuf Mohammed Siad Indho-adde, made a world-wide appeal for jihadists to come to Somalia, and claimed the ICU had taken Tiyoglow, Bakol province. Independent journalists were also shown that Iidale had been taken by the ICU, where they were shown bodies of Ethiopian troops. The TFG denied the claims as "cheap propaganda."
The International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
expressed their concern over those caught up in the fighting, quoting the figure of 200 wounded fighters being brought into hospitals on both sides.
December 24, 2006
Islamist Abdulahi Gedow, commander of forces in Burhakaba, claimed to have seized Gasarta, less than 12 km south of Baidoa. This would be an advance of 10 km north of Daynunay (which is 22 km southeast of Baidoa). Islamists claimed that five Ethiopian tanks were destroyed.TFG Defence Minister Barre Shire Hirale claimed to have retaken Iidale after a clash in which over 100 were killed.
In Kismayo, 1,000 men were said to be leaving for the battle, presumably to fight on behalf of the ICU.
Ethiopian airstrikes hit targets across Somalia, including Dinsoor
Dinsoor
-Overveiw:It was founded in 1805, when a group of nomads constructed a water well near a mountain area called Bug. It is the fourth largest city in the Bay province.Dinsoor has one local airport called Mecca Boqol...
and Burhakaba
Buurhakaba
-Overview:Burhakaba is the largest town in the region, with a reported population of 28,000 people. The town is named after a large hill that surrounds it.-References:*...
in the Bay region as part of the counter-offensive in the battle. To the north, Bandiradley
Bandiiradley
Banderadley is a town in the Mudug region of Somalia. It lies 70 km southwest of the city of Gaalkacyo, along the main highway that crosses Somalia. The city has a population of approximately 50,000 and has its own airport....
in Mudug
Mudug
Mudug is an administrative region in north-central Somalia. Bordered by the Ogaden, the Somalian regions of Nugaal and Galguduud, and the Indian Ocean, its capital is the city of Galkacyo.-Districts:...
and Beledweyne
Beledweyne
Beledweyne is a city in central Somalia. It is the capital of the Hiraan province, and is located in the central valley of the Shebelle river near the Ogaden, some 206 miles north of Mogadishu, the nation's capital. The Shebelle river divides the town into east and west...
in Hiiran
Hiiraan
Hiran is an administrative region in south-central Somalia.-Overview:Hiiraan is bordered by the Somali Region of Ethiopia to the northwest, and the Somalian provinces of Galgudud to the northeast, Middle Shebelle) to the south, Lower Shebelle to the southwest, and Bay and Bakool to the west.The...
were also struck.
TFG Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jele stated government forces had advanced within three kilometers of Bur-Hakaba and were poised to re-capture the town.
A Somalian website claimed that thousands of angry people rallied in the capital of Mogadishu in protest of the Ethiopian air strikes. The people took to the streets of Mogadishu, forcing business centers to close down and send militia to the front. It also claimed that hundreds of volunteers were registering to join the Islamists.
December 25, 2006
Ethiopian airstrikes hit the airports at Mogadishu and Bali-Dogle. The latter airport lies 115 km northwest of Mogadishu in the district of Wanlaweyne about half-way between the capital and the front lines at Burhakaba. At least one person was reported dead and others wounded in the Mogadishu attack. The Islamic Courts tightened security in the capital as a result.Ethiopian forces were reported to have taken both Beledweyne
Beledweyne
Beledweyne is a city in central Somalia. It is the capital of the Hiraan province, and is located in the central valley of the Shebelle river near the Ogaden, some 206 miles north of Mogadishu, the nation's capital. The Shebelle river divides the town into east and west...
and Buuloburde in Hiran, with unconfirmed reports that "hundreds of Ethiopian tanks" were moving along the road towards Jowhar
Jowhar
Jowhar is the capital town of the Shabeellaha Dhexe region of Somalia . Along with Baidoa, it used to form the joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government, which captured it from the Islamic Courts Union....
. This presents a threat of a major flanking of ICU positions in Tiyoglow and Burhakaba
Buurhakaba
-Overview:Burhakaba is the largest town in the region, with a reported population of 28,000 people. The town is named after a large hill that surrounds it.-References:*...
by striking towards the Middle Shabelle
Shabeellaha Dhexe
-Overview:It is bordered by the Somali regions of Galgudud, Hiran, Lower Shebelle, and Banadir, as well as the Indian Ocean.As part of the former Benadir region, Shabeellaha Dhexe's capital was Mogadishu up until the mid-1980s, when the town of Jowhar became the capital...
area. The Ethiopian forces were accompanied by Somali warlord Mohamed Omar Habeb 'Mohamed Dhere,' who wished to reestablish his control over Jowhar.
Ethiopian forces had also reportedly encircled both Dinsoor and Burhakaba. Fighting had advanced near Dinsoor to Rama-Addey. The TFG asserted it was within a few kilometers of capturing Burhakaba.
The ICU's "commando-type arm" under the command of veteran of Afghanistan, Adan Ayrow was said to be giving stiff resistance. Yet late in the day, fighting was reported within Dinsoor itself. Dinsoor resident Mohammed Hassan reported that Ethiopian forces had taken the town.
December 26, 2006
ICU forces reportedly abandoned their positions in Burhakaba and Dinsoor after days of heavy fighting, leaving behind a number of heavy weapons and other military equipment. Witnesses reported that ICU fighters were retreating from the Battle of Baidoa on numerous fronts and returning to Mogadishu in convoys. Islamic councilman Mohamoud Ibrahim Suley confirmed the withdrawal. Troops were also reported to have withdrawn to Daynuunay. Ethiopian troops arrived in BurhakabaBuurhakaba
-Overview:Burhakaba is the largest town in the region, with a reported population of 28,000 people. The town is named after a large hill that surrounds it.-References:*...
after the Islamists vacated it. An Ethiopian government spokesman also confirmed that Ethiopian troops also arrived in Dinsoor
Dinsoor
-Overveiw:It was founded in 1805, when a group of nomads constructed a water well near a mountain area called Bug. It is the fourth largest city in the Bay province.Dinsoor has one local airport called Mecca Boqol...
unopposed. Despite this, local militamen were seen by witnesses to be stealing boxes of food and medicine, further hampering any humanitarian efforts
Diplomatic and humanitarian efforts in the Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War began in 1988. It has gone through various phases over the past two decades.In 2006, open civil war broke out between the Islamic Courts Union and the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism in March through June, and later, the Transitional Federal...
. Airstrikes also continued, this time on Leego, just east of Burhakaba
Buurhakaba
-Overview:Burhakaba is the largest town in the region, with a reported population of 28,000 people. The town is named after a large hill that surrounds it.-References:*...
. Three people were reportedly killed in the space of thirty minutes.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi Asres is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Since 1985, he has been chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front , and is currently head of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front .Meles was born in Adwa, Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father from...
, announced Ethiopia would likely withdraw its troops within a few weeks. He said their main goal was to damage the ICU's military capabilities, sense of invincibility and ensure a more balanced setting for peace talks. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
also announced it would support Ethiopian military operations, saying the country has "genuine security concerns," although it was unclear in what capacity the US would support the nation. The United Nations envoy to Somalia has urged an end to the fighting, and Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, the current President of the UN Security Council, has proposed a draft statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of all international forces. Other nations, such as the US, Britain, France, and Russia, have objected to the statement, saying peace talks and agreement are necessary before troops can withdraw.