afrol News, 20 May - Ethiopian authorities have rejected reports that it has redeployed its troops back to the war torn Somalia, saying the reports were unfounded.

Ethiopia which withdrew all its troops from Somalia in January this year after backing the Somalia Transitional government to oust the hard-line Islamist rebels, said the reports were untrue, stating that the Horn of Africa state has no intention to invade the Somali territories.

On Monday morning, reports from near the central town of Baladwayne reported that Ethiopian troops had landed in the areas before dawn.

However, Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wahade Belay said the situation in Somalia was contained, saying intervention was not needed and that there were no Ethiopians troops who have invaded Somalia.

The latest clashes between Allied fighters of Al-Shabaab and Hezbul Islam and the Somali government in recent days led to the capture of a number of key positions in Mogadishu and two main central Somalia towns from government forces, raising fears the government could collapse.

The clashes have also killed more than 130 people displacing over 30, 000 people in Mogadishu and its outskirts.

Ethiopian troops withdrew last January, having it entered into Somalia in late 2006 to assist the former Somali government to topple an Islamist movement that had ruled much of the south and central part of the country.

The Horn of Africa nation has been marred by constant civil conflict dating as far back as in the early 1990’s. It is estimated that more than 16,000 civilians have been killed by fighting since the start of 2007, with thousands more displaced.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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