Somalia – Ethiopian trainers open militia camp

[CrazySommies]

(Reuters Aug 23 2006)Somalia's autonomous region called Puntland opened a militia training camp on Tuesday with trainers from Ethiopia, confirmed the president of Puntland General Mohamed Muse Hirsi.

The presence of Ethiopian trainers points to what many fear is a growing internationalisation of a crisis that has split the Horn of Africa nation and threatened the slim authority of its interim government.

Puntland's hardliner General Hirsi acknowledged EthiopiaÂ’s support for the Puntland militias now and the past during their time as an armed opposition group namely Somali Salvation Defence Forces (SSDF).
"You will study military tactics, because you will defend your country with valour and gallantry" Hirsi told the recruits.

Witnesses identified Ethiopian trainers at the camp.

Diplomats fear Somalia could become a proxy battleground for Ethiopia and Eritrea, and have said that more players like Libya, Iran and Egypt have quietly entered the fray.

Meanwhile, the Islamists leader Sheikh Dahir Aweys attended the opening ceremony of the Muqdisho port for the first time in fiveteen years - boosting their claim to be restoring normality.
"From now on, Mogadishu seaport is open and all Mogadishu businessmen should use it," a senior Islamist leader, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed