This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7868135.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Somali leader seeks military aid Somali leader seeks military aid
(20 minutes later)
Somalia's new president has appealed for foreign military help to deal with "extremists" against the peace process.Somalia's new president has appealed for foreign military help to deal with "extremists" against the peace process.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was making his first major speech - at an African Union summit in Ethiopia - since being elected last week by Somali MPs. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was making his first major speech - at an African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia - since being elected last week by Somali MPs.
The moderate Islamist used to lead an armed opposition movement ousted by Ethiopian forces in late 2006.The moderate Islamist used to lead an armed opposition movement ousted by Ethiopian forces in late 2006.
His call came as Ethiopia denied its troops had returned to Somalia, following their pull-out last month.His call came as Ethiopia denied its troops had returned to Somalia, following their pull-out last month.
Ethiopian soldiers spent two years in Somalia, battling Islamist forces led by Mr Ahmed. Somali foreign ministry official Mohammed Jama told the BBC the president had raised concerns about "extremists who will abuse the peace process".
Mr Ahmed was elected as part of a UN-brokered plan to try to form a unity government and bring peace to Somalia for the first time since 1991. "We are asking the international community to assist," he added.
Ethiopian soldiers spent two years in Somalia, battling an Islamist group led by Mr Ahmed.
He was elected president last Friday as part of a UN-brokered plan to try to form a unity government and bring peace to Somalia for the first time since 1991.
But the hardline Islamist militia al-Shabab, which took advantage of Ethiopia's pull-out to boost its control of the south, accuses him of selling out to the West.But the hardline Islamist militia al-Shabab, which took advantage of Ethiopia's pull-out to boost its control of the south, accuses him of selling out to the West.
Al-Shabab - which last week seized Baidoa, the seat of the Somali parliament, on the same day Ethiopia said its pullout was finished- has been holding protests against the new president. 'Big stupid naked lie'
Ethiopia strongly denies its troops are back in Somalia Al-Shabab - which last week seized Baidoa, the seat of the Somali parliament - has been holding protests against the new president.
The radical group's leader, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, vowed on Tuesday to intensify its attacks on the AU mission in Somalia (Amisom), which is trying to fill the vacuum left by Ethiopian troops.Ethiopia strongly denies its troops are back in Somalia
The threat came a day after Somali officials accused AU soldiers of spraying gunfire in a crowded area of Mogadishu - killing 20 people - after an Amisom convoy was targeted by a roadside bomb.
But at a press conference in the capital on Tuesday, Amisom spokesman Maj Bahuko Baridgye labelled claims that his forces had opened fire on civilians as "a big stupid naked lie".
He said: "The fragments from the explosion are the ones that cut those people… there's no bullet that ever cut a body into two pieces - it's not there."
Only about 3,600 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers, from an intended 8,000-strong AU force, are deployed in Mogadishu.
The UN Security Council last month agreed in principle to a proposal to send a peacekeeping force in Somalia, but delayed a decision about such a mission until June.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last year Somalia was too dangerous to send peacekeepers.
Local officials meanwhile claimed Ethiopian forces had set up a checkpoint in the Hiran region of central Somalia, some 20km (12 miles) from the border.Local officials meanwhile claimed Ethiopian forces had set up a checkpoint in the Hiran region of central Somalia, some 20km (12 miles) from the border.
"The Ethiopian forces are violating the basic integrity of Somalia again," Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) commander Ahmed Osman Abdalla told AFP news agency."The Ethiopian forces are violating the basic integrity of Somalia again," Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) commander Ahmed Osman Abdalla told AFP news agency.
The Ethiopian government described the reports as false and said it had no intention of returning to Somalia. But Ethiopian Information Minister Bereket Simon told Reuters news agency: "The army is within the Ethiopian border. There is no intention to go back."
Information Minister Bereket Simon told Reuters news agency: "The army is within the Ethiopian border. There is no intention to go back."