Militants of al Shabaab display their weapons on the outskirts of Mogadishu, December 8, 2008. The hardline Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab has taken control of a central Somali trading town after fighting that killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens of others, residents said. REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA)From Yahoo News/AP:
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Ethiopian troops are pouring into neighboring Somalia to fight radical Islamists who have taken over much of the country, raising fears of more violence in a country fighting a deadly insurgency and piracy, witnesses and the Somali government said Tuesday.
The Ethiopians' advance comes just weeks before they are scheduled to withdraw after an unpopular, two-year presence here. The Ethiopians are integral to protecting the Western-backed government, and their planned withdrawal at the end of the month will likely herald the administration's collapse.
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My Comment: This deployment should not be a surprise. The Islamists are winning the war in Somalia, and are defeating the Ethiopian forces and their Somali allies on the battlefield.
I expect this war to become very bloody in the next few weeks.