Addis Ababa, Nov 28: Ethiopian troops will have
fully withdrawn from Somalia by the end of 2008, bringing an
end to a two-year military intervention, a Foreign Ministry
spokesman told media on Friday.
Wahide Belay said that the deadline for the pullout was
announced in a letter sent on Tuesday to UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon and African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping.
"Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin has stated that Ethiopia
had decided to withdraw at the end of the year," Wahide said.
Diplomats who saw the letter confirmed that the pullout
was due to be completed by the end of year.
Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in 2006 to oust the
Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a radical group which had
conquered most of the country and were imposing a strict form
of Sharia.
Ethiopian troops were meant to prop up the embattled
transitional federal government but the internationally-backed
authorities never succeeded in asserting their power on the
restive country.
The Shebab, the former youth and military wing of the
ICU, has since waged a bruising guerrilla war against Somali
government troops and Ethiopian forces.
A recent agreement between the more moderate members of
the Somali opposition and transitional government was reached
in Djibouti for a gradual withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, but
no deadline had been announced.
"We have concluded that it is inappropriate for Ethiopia to
maintain its troops in Somalia," Wahide told media.
Bureau Report
