SOMALIA:Fighting was reported close to the Somali government's stronghold yesterday, scuttling hopes of a breakthrough in peace talks between the embattled administration and the country's powerful Islamic movement.
Heavy artillery could be heard close to the dusty town of Baidoa which is defended by Somali government troops and their Ethiopian allies. Residents said they had seen an Ethiopian helicopter and an unmarked C130 aircraft take off from the town.
Analysts fear that war in Somalia could drag the entire Horn of Africa into conflict.
The fresh clashes erupted hours after a European Union envoy said he had assurances from both sides that they would attend peace talks in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, next month.
But yesterday, the leader of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts told reporters in the capital, Mogadishu, that the country was in a state of war. "All Somalis should take part in this struggle against Ethiopia," Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told AP news agency.
Somalia has been without a central government for 15 years after the regime of Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled by warlords.
The vacuum was filled by armed stongmen who kept the country in a near-constant state of anarchy. That began to change in June when militias loyal to a network of Sharia courts seized control of Mogadishu.
Since then the Union of Islamic Courts has spread throughout central and southern Somalia, pinning a fledgling government into its Baidoa stronghold. While many Somalis have welcomed the emergence of the courts and the peace and stability they have brought, Washington and regional governments fear they could become an African Taliban, offering sanctuary to al-Qaeda terrorists.
Ethiopia - with tacit US backing - has sent several thousand troops to defend the government.
Fighting erupted early on Wednesday, soon after the expiry of an Islamist deadline for the Ethiopians to leave Somali soil.
Yesterday both sides claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties during fighting that centred on Daynunay and Dinsoor, about 30km (18.6 miles) and 75km (46.6 miles) from Baidoa respectively. Salad Ali Jelle, Somalia's deputy defence minister, told reporters in Baidoa that 71 Islamic fighters had been killed and 221 injured.
In Mogadishu, Sheikh Mohamud Ibrahim Suley claimed Islamist forces had killed 70 fighters, mainly Ethiopian troops.
Courts officials also claimed to have captured the town of Idale, about 60km (37.3 miles) from Baidoa.
Matt Bryden, consultant to the International Crisis Group, said the clashes probably fell short of all-out war but marked a worrying turn of events. "The signs are that this will be the condition for some time to come," he said.
"And I think we can say that this is the beginning of a new phase, which is a larger scale, possibly sustained, conflict."
Mr Bryden added that it marked a blow for an agreement obtained by Louis Michel, European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, committing both sides to talks without preconditions.
He spent Wednesday with the government in Baidoa before travelling to Mogadishu for meetings with the Islamist leadership.
Negotiations in Khartoum have stalled repeatedly with both sides accusing the other of breaching a ceasefire.