12/06/08 (B451) SHABELLE NETWORK : les troupes d’Al Shabbab auraient pris le contrôle de plusieurs villes en Ethiopie. Alshabab fighters seize town in Ethiopia. (En Anglais – Info lecteur)

Reports from Ethiopia say that armed Alshabab fighters have seized Ferfer town in Ethiopia following heavy fighting between the Ethiopian troops in the town and Alshabab fighters occurred there on Wednesday night according to islamists spokesman and residents.

Alshabab fighters were reported to have attacked two Ethiopian troop’s army bases in ferfer that lies in Somali region in Ethiopia and expelled the Ethiopian soldiers.

More than one hour lasted fighting rocked in the town overnight.

Islamists spokesman Abdi Rahin Isse Addow has declared that one fighter wounded in the attack on their side but no comments could be reached from Ethiopia government on that incident.

For bad telecommunication no further details are available.

It’s also yet unknown the side has control of the town.

This region lies in northeastern Ethiopia, bordering on Somalia and Kenya. It is an arid region, inhabited by Somali pastoral nomads. Upon the scramble and partition of Africa in 1884 by the Europeans, the region remained given to Menelik II of Ethiopia during 1891-97, but the territory was totally engulfed in 1954.

Apart from drought, the Somali region also suffers interclan conflicts. Last month local officials told Shabelle that 11 food aid trucks had been burnt in the Gashamo area over two months. They blamed the incidents on rivalry between the Isaq and Ogaden clans.

The region has been in wars, cyclic droughts and total devastation since then, but mostly since 1960 up to now and State policies met with varying levels of resistance.

The people of the region were not allowed for self-determination by Ethiopia government, but rather subjected to longstanding hidden-sufferings and abuses by ruthless successive Ethiopian governments but armed groups hail from the region are continuing colossal resistances against Ethiopia government .

The region covers much of the traditional territory of Ogaden and it formed a large part of the pre-1995 province of Hararghe. The region has a very high Somali population, and in the past has been claimed by Somalia as part of a Greater Somalia. In the 1970s, Somalia invaded Ethiopia in support of local Somali rebels, particularly during the Ogaden War, but was defeated.