25/10/08 (B471) Press TV Aux termes d’un accord négocié à Addis Abeba, les Ethiopiens vont recevoir une aide financière et militaire des Nations Unies pour poursuivre leurs actions en Somalie. UN to fund Ethiopians in Somalia (En Anglais – Info lecteur)

Zenawi has been reportedly given promises of UN financial and military support.

The UN has reportedly agreed to provide Ethiopia with financial and military support in the country’s battle against Somali insurgents.

The agreement is a result of negotiations between Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi and UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro in the Ethiopian capital Adis Ababa, sources in Somalia’s presidential palace told Press TV.

The deal aims at curbing violence and facilitating counterinsurgency activities in Somalia, the sources added.

In 2006, Ethiopian soldiers entered Somalia to back the country’s embattled Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Ever since, Somalis have been the casualty of the troops’ unceasing struggle against the insurgents.

The agreement was reportedly reached between Zenawi and UN Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro.

The death toll on the side of Somalis was so extensive that it prompted the Ethiopian authorities to consider withdrawal. Last week, Zenawi said poor ‘commitment’ on the part of the Somali government would leave Ethiopia no choice but to pull the forces out of Somalia.

Ten Ethiopians were said to have been killed during the their most recent engagement with the insurgents in the town of Bardale southeast of the capital Mogadishu. The confrontation also claimed 30 Somali soldiers.

The accommodation, however, marks a coup for the Ethiopian side following reports of Adis Ababa’s abortive attempts at seeking support from the European Union.