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| Ethiopia army trainers in Somalia | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Ethiopia's prime minister has for the first time admitted to having soldiers inside Somalia. | Ethiopia's prime minister has for the first time admitted to having soldiers inside Somalia. |
| Meles Zenawi told parliament that he had sent military trainers to help the beleaguered interim government. | Meles Zenawi told parliament that he had sent military trainers to help the beleaguered interim government. |
| But he denied sending a fighting force, despite several eyewitness reports of hundreds of troops. | But he denied sending a fighting force, despite several eyewitness reports of hundreds of troops. |
| Ethiopia backs Somalia's government against an Islamist group which now controls most of the south. The Islamists deny having al-Qaeda links. | Ethiopia backs Somalia's government against an Islamist group which now controls most of the south. The Islamists deny having al-Qaeda links. |
| Meanwhile, Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf has accused the Union of Islamic Courts of flying the "black flag of the Taleban" and al-Qaeda, reports the AFP news agency. | |
| Islamist radicals from Afghanistan, Chechnya, Arab nations and Europe "make up a considerable number" of UIC forces, which were now dominated by hardliners, he said. | |
| "The [Islamists] draw massive, material, financial and military support from international terror networks," he told a meeting in Kenya of the International Contact Group on Somalia led by the United States. | |
| Mr Meles did not say how many military trainers were in Somalia but accused the Union of Islamic Courts of attacking targets inside Ethiopia. | Mr Meles did not say how many military trainers were in Somalia but accused the Union of Islamic Courts of attacking targets inside Ethiopia. |
| "We have the right to defend ourselves against these people. We have been very patient throughout this ordeal," he told parliament. | "We have the right to defend ourselves against these people. We have been very patient throughout this ordeal," he told parliament. |
| "If the incursion continues... the armed forces have a duty to respond to that. But at this moment, it has not reached this level." | "If the incursion continues... the armed forces have a duty to respond to that. But at this moment, it has not reached this level." |
| Earlier this month, residents of a Somali town said that Ethiopian troops had helped government forces briefly take a town from the Union of Islamic Courts. | Earlier this month, residents of a Somali town said that Ethiopian troops had helped government forces briefly take a town from the Union of Islamic Courts. |
| The UIC immediately vowed to wage a "holy war" in revenge. | The UIC immediately vowed to wage a "holy war" in revenge. |
| The town of Bur Haqaba lies on the road from the government base in Baidoa to the Islamist-held capital, Mogadishu. | The town of Bur Haqaba lies on the road from the government base in Baidoa to the Islamist-held capital, Mogadishu. |
| Earlier, the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Baidoa saw a convoy of Ethiopian army trucks pass through, with about 200 troops. | Earlier, the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Baidoa saw a convoy of Ethiopian army trucks pass through, with about 200 troops. |
| Talks | Talks |
| US Assistant Secretary for African affairs Jendayi Fraser is chairing the meeting in Kenya of the 11 members of the contact group. | |
| The UIC foreign affairs co-ordinator was expected to attend along with other foreign diplomats. | |
| Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991. | Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991. |