Ethiopians Said to Patrol Somali Road

Witnesses Describe Clash With Islamic Fighters in South

Islamic militiamen, seen here at a rally last month, now control the capital and large parts of the country. Neighboring Ethiopia sees them as a threat. (By Mohamed Sheikh Nor -- Associated Press)

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Nov. 22 -- Hundreds of Ethiopian troops were patrolling a strategic road that leads to the southern town of Baidoa, where Somalia's interim government is based, after a brief but intense firefight in the area this week, witnesses said Wednesday.

Ethiopia, which denies sending troops across the border, has vowed to protect Somalia's weak government against an increasingly powerful Islamic militia that controls the capital, Mogadishu, and large swaths of the country.

Witnesses and the Islamic group said three Ethiopian soldiers were killed in a clash Tuesday with radical Islamic fighters in the Bardale district, about 40 miles southwest of Baidoa.

"At least 200 Ethiopian troops are carefully patrolling the road," said Yusuf Kheyre, a resident of Bardale district.

Ethiopia acknowledges sending military advisers to Somalia, although Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has threatened to send tens of thousands of troops across the border if the Council of Islamic Courts attacks.

Experts have warned that Somalia has become a proxy battleground for Somalia's neighbors, Eritrea and Ethiopia. A recent confidential U.N. report said 6,000 to 8,000 Ethiopian troops were inside Somalia or near its border with Ethiopia, backing the interim government. The report also said 2,000 troops from Eritrea were inside Somalia supporting the Islamic militia.

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other. The current administration was formed with the help of the United Nations two years ago, but it has failed to assert any control outside the town of Baidoa.

The Council of Islamic Courts, meanwhile, has steadily gained ground since taking over Mogadishu in June and now controls much of southern Somalia.

The United States has accused the Islamic group of sheltering suspects in the 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Islamic council, which at times has adopted a strict interpretation of Islamic law since taking over the capital, this week arrested nearly 100 people for watching a movie in Merka, a seaside town about 60 miles southwest of Mogadishu.

"The detainees were watching an Indian film dubbed into Somali language," said Abdi Shardi, a cinema owner.

Also Wednesday, Council of Islamic Courts officials said they would guarantee the safety of aid workers responding to catastrophic floods hitting the country, underscoring the interim government's weakness outside its base. The floods, the worst in Somalia in 50 years, have killed at least 150 people in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

"The flood problem in Somalia is more than we can fix alone," said Sheik Nor Barud, a spokesman for the Islamic council's flood relief committee. He said his group will protect relief workers in areas under Islamic control.