By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN
Associated Press Writer
The announcement came during a lull in fighting between the militia and government forces. Islamic forces have declared they want to bring the whole country under Quranic rule and vowed to continue attacks to drive out troops from neighboring Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation that is providing military support.
``Special forces who are highly trained in guerrilla warfare are now ready to attack Ethiopians, wherever they are in Somalia,'' Sheik Ibrahim Shukri Abuu-Zeynab, a spokesman for the Islamic movement, told The Associated Press.
Also Saturday, Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi vowed that his government will ``defend the people it's responsible for and Somali sovereignty.''
Late Friday, Ethiopia accused the Islamic movement of crossing into its territory.
``The situation in Somalia has turned from bad to worse,'' a statement said. ``Ethiopia has been patient so far but there is a limit to this.''
Ethiopia denies its forces are fighting, but says it has deployed several hundred military trainers in support of Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government.
Thousands of Somalis have fled their homes as troops loyal to the two-year-old interim administration fought Islamic fighters who had advanced on Baidoa, the U.N.-backed government's only stronghold. Islamic militiamen control Mogadishu along with most of southern Somalia.
Government officials said more than 600 Islamic fighters had been killed during four days of clashes. Islamic militia said they had killed around 400 Ethiopians and government fighters. Neither claim could be independently confirmed.
The clashes could mean a major conflict in this volatile region. Ethiopia, which has one of the largest armies in the region, and its bitter rival, Eritrea, could use Somalia as the ground for a proxy war. While Ethiopia backs the internationally recognized government, Eritrea backs the Islamic movement.
In Kismayo, a strategic seaport captured from the government by Islamic militia in September, several foreign Arab fighters were seen by residents unloading from ships.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on both sides to ``cease the hostilities immediately and to resume the peace talks,'' his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement released late Friday.
Annan is ``deeply concerned that the escalation of conflict in Somalia will have disastrous consequences for civilians, who are already suffering from the effects of years of instability and deprivation, compounded by the severe flooding that has recently affected parts of the country,'' Dujarric said.
He also voiced ``grave concern'' over reports of the involvement of ``foreign forces ... and he implores all involved to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.''
The U.N. issued a statement in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Friday calling for an ``immediate end'' to the conflict. It accused both sides of using increasing numbers of child soldiers. ``This conflict will push the children of Somalia into further dire crisis,'' the U.N. said.
Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, plunging the country into chaos.
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Associated Press Writers Salad Duhul and Mohamed Sheik Nor contributed to this report.
Source: AP, Dec 23, 2006