cat as trophe

I don't care where it is !
Burkina Faso; Somalia; New Caledonia; Ethiopia; or Tasmania !
Sovereign risk rules supreme as far as my investment dollar is cocerned.
It's Western Australia, predominantly, and GOLD.
Where else is there any sense?


Somali civilians flee fighting





Islamic Courts fighters are advancing towards Baidoa, the government's only stronghold



Somalian government forces backed by Ethiopian troops have used artillery against Islamic Court fighters advancing on Baidoa, the transitional government's only stronghold.



Thousands of Somali civilians fled their homes as hundreds of troops and trucks moved towards the front lines on Friday, after a night of artillery and mortar fire.





Both the government and the opposition say fighting has killed hundreds.



"Unlike during the previous days of the fighting, this morning large numbers of people were coming from the villages around Baidoa and could be seen fleeing," said Duqow Salad, a UN aid worker in Wajid, north of Baidoa.







The Council of Islamic Courts said they would send ground troops to attack on Saturday, instead of fighting from a distance with heavy weapons as they have been doing so far.



"Our troops have not started to attack. From tomorrow the attack will start," said Ibrahim Shukri, an Islamic Courts spokesman.



Witnesses near the fighting on two fronts near the government's encircled stronghold of Baidoa said they heard the rumble of armour before dawn.




"I was awakened this morning by heavy sounds of tanks. I woke up and saw seven Ethiopian tanks heading towards Daynunay"

Abdullahi Ali, Baidoa resident

"I was awakened this morning by heavy sounds of tanks. I woke up and saw seven Ethiopian tanks heading towards Daynunay," Abdullahi Ali, a Baidoa resident, said.



Mohamed Adan, a farmer, said he saw tanks moving outside Baidoa: "There were nearly 20. I understand some have been sent towards Daynunay while others have gone towards Idaale."



Daynunay is the government's forward military base about 20km southeast of Baidoa. Ethiopia has said it has military trainers there, but not combat troops.



The other front, Idaale, is 70km southwest of Baidoa, a southern agricultural trading post which is the only town the government controls.



The Islamic Courts also said Ethiopian soldiers were moving by air and ground towards Galkaayo, a strategic central Somali town held as a forward defence base by government-allied Puntland troops.



Baidoa threatened



One government parliamentarian in Baidoa said he was concerned that opposition fighters would take the town.



"More well-armed Ethiopians are pouring here minute after minute and thousands of Islamic Courts fighters are heading here to force them and the government out," he said on condition of anonymity.




"They [the Islamic opposition] are claiming that Ethiopia is fighting against them and this is totally false"

Zemedkun Teckle,
Somali government

Hundreds of people in areas held by the Islamic Courts forces were also fleeing to Mogadishu, the Somali capital, which is held by the Islamic Courts.



Fighting along two front lines continued for a fourth day on Friday, with both sides claiming victory.



About 500 Ethiopian troops with eight tanks and 30 pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns were also headed for Bandiradley, an Islamic Courts stronghold in central Somalia, according to witnesses and Islamic Courts officials.



Ethiopian tanks counter-attacked Idale, which the Islamic Courts said they had captured on Thursday. Ethiopian prisoners were paraded in the town, residents said.



Sheik Ibrahim Shukri Abuu-Zeynab, a Islamic Courts spokesman, said 200 Ethiopian troops were killed when they captured the town, 60km southwest of Baidoa. Islamic officials said fighting continued in the area.



'State of war'



On Thursday, the leader of the Islamic Courts said Somalia was in a state of war and called on all Somalis to fight Ethiopian forces in the country.



The transitional federal government depends on Ethiopian troops for protection and military advice, making it impossible to differentiate government soldiers from Ethiopian forces.




"All Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia … If you cannot fight you can contribute in other ways to the effort"

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, Islamic Courts leader

The fighting threatens to expand into a regional war, sucking in Ethiopia and its bitter rival Eritrea. Eritrea is accused of supporting the Islamic Courts.



In Ethiopia, government officials denied their troops were involved. "We have not had any soldiers killed," Zemedkun Teckle said.



"They [the Islamic Courts] are claiming that Ethiopia is fighting against them and this is totally false. If the time comes that we have to fight, it will be very clear to everyone and there will be no doubt because we will announce this to our people."



As shelling continued close to Baidoa, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamic Courts leader, said: "All Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia ... . If you cannot fight you can contribute in other ways to the effort."



The UN appealed for calm. It said fighting would prevent aid from reaching hundreds of thousands in dire need of help because of hunger and flooding.



Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991.