The Ethiopian army has killed nearly 100 militants of the Islamist terror group Al-Shabaab in the Somali-Ethiopia border area.
Since Wednesday, a series of attacks have taken place between the extremists on the one hand and soldiers and police officers from both countries on the other. Fourteen Al-Shabaab military vehicles have been destroyed and a large amount of weapons seized, according to a press release issued Saturday evening by the government of the Somali region of Somalia, which borders Somalia. The situation is under control, it said.
“Toughest fights ever”
Mohamed Malim, a local official in Somalia’s Hudur district, told AFP on Thursday that “these were the heaviest fighting ever seen in the region”. “It took about six hours for the militants to be expelled. There have been dead and wounded fighters on both sides, but we have no further details so far,” he said.
Linked to Al-Qaeda
Al-Shabaab itself said on Thursday that it killed 87 soldiers and police officers. The terror militia regularly carries out attacks in the Horn of Africa, but it is unusual for them to cross the border into Ethiopia. The organization is linked to al-Qaida and aims to overthrow the Somali government in order to establish an Islamic state. Al-Shabaab has been evicted from Somalia’s main urban areas, such as the capital Mogadishu in 2011, but continues to exert a major influence on rural areas.
Dozens killed in attacks in Somalia-Ethiopia border
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