ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, Dec. 24 ? Ethiopia officially plunged into war with Somalia?s Islamist forces on Sunday, bombing targets inside Somalia and pushing ground troops deep into Somali territory in a major escalation that could turn Somalia?s internal crisis into a violent religious conflict that engulfs the entire Horn of Africa.
The coordinated assault was the first open admission by Ethiopia?s Christian-led government of its military operations inside Somalia, where ? with tacit American support ? it has been helping a weak interim government threatened by forces loyal to the Islamic clerics who control the longtime capital, Mogadishu, and much of the country.
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Some of the most frightening snipets:
The bombs also destroyed a recruitment center and a fuel depot, killing at least 10 people, witnesses reported. Hours later, the transitional troops marched into the area, and a new mayor was installed.
Many of Beledweyne?s people seemed relieved, not so much about the change in government, but because the fighting appeared to have ended so fast.
?We?re so sick of war,? said Ahmed Issa, a shopkeeper in Beledweyne. ?We?ll obey anybody.?
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In a hint of a possible direction to come, Ethiopia?s prime minister recently told American officials that he could wipe out the Islamists ? in one to two weeks.?
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