The mission of the Ethiopian troops was unknown.
Ethiopia has consistently denied it has forces in Somalia,
but their presence has been widely reported by witnesses and
journalists. Ethiopia has said that it has a few hundred
military advisers in Somalia helping the transitional government
form a national army.
Meanwhile, clashes at a southern Somalia front line between
the transitional government and the Council of Islamic Courts
have reportedly stopped.
Government troops backed by
Ethiopian troops and Islamic militia fought at two villages on
Friday and Saturday, during which at least 15 people were
killed and 18 others wounded, witnesses said.
Qadra Abdi Aden, a fuel-seller in Safarnoolees village
where the rivals fought Friday, said villagers were not
confident they had seen the last of the fighting.
"Everything is calm today (Sunday)," Aden told the AP by
phone. "The fighting can restart at any moment because the
rival troops are only 5 kilometers (3 miles) apart."
The villages where the fighting took place are about 80
kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the transitional
government's base, Baidoa.
A Somali human rights group said Sunday that it feared
renewed fighting in Somalia could bring a return of past human
rights violations, such as rape, torture, kidnapping and
looting.
"It is unfortunate that new wave of fighting is backed by
foreign powers in Somalia," said the Dr. Ismael Jumale Human
Rights Center in a statement. "The center believes that
interference of foreign powers could only pave the way for
natural disaster and violations against humanity.
"The center urges the international community to make
efforts to reconcile the political rival groups (in Somalia)
in order to avert a new wave of fighting," the statement said.
Residents of Baidoa said there had been increased movement
of military personnel in the town between Friday and Saturday,
raising tensions in Baidoa, which is 250 kilometers (155
miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu.
Somalia has not had an effective central government for 15
years, after warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad
Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other.
A transitional government was formed two years but it has
been unable to assert its authority over the country and since
June the Council of Islamic Courts has seized Mogadishu and
taken control of much of southern Somalia.
___
Associated Press writer Salad Duhul in Mogadishu
contributed to this report.
11:00 GMT
