Ethiopia has the right to intervene militarily in Somalia, an African Union official said. According to news agencies, AU spokesman Patrick Mazimhaka said the union failed to react adequately to the situation in Somalia.
"I think the African Union will probably support the Ethiopian troops in Somalia because the government is an internationally recognized one," said Aweys Osman, a Mogadishu-based journalist, with Shabelle Radio. Within the capital, Mogadishu, civilians are moving from one place to another, but in the country’s south, residents are fleeing to the neighboring Kenya, he added.
Meanwhile, the Arab League has called on Ethiopia to remove its troops from Somalia immediately and prevent violence from escalating further.
Arab League envoy to Somalia, Samir Husni, told Al-Jazeera that Addis Ababa should stop interfering in Ethiopia and withdraw its troops, Somalinet reported.
Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi declared war on Islamists in Somalia on Sunday. His troops are already on the outskirts of Mogadishu.
The Arab League is concerned that the recent flare-up will hamper efforts at dialogue between Islamists and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) scheduled to take place in the Sudanese capital Khartoum next month.
The Arab League appeal occurred as Ethiopian aircraft bombed the main airport in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and Balidogle military airfield in southern Somalia.
Zenawi admitted for the first time on Sunday that his country’s troops were fighting in the bordering Somalia.
He said his country was forced to go to war to defend its sovereignty, but gave assurances that the forces would leave as soon as their mission was over.
Analysts fear the fighting could ignite a war engulfing the whole region, with Ethiopia taking the side of the TFG and Eritrea backing the Islamists.
Islamists, who are part of the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC), took over the Somali capital in June and have since taken control over several other regions, mostly in the central and southern parts of the country.
Attempts by the Arab League and the United Nations to resume negotiations between the warring parties have failed to stop the fighting.
Meanwhile, SCIC leaders have resumed their call for Muslims from around the world to join them in their fight against the Ethiopian “Christian enemy.”
Islamists are recruiting for battle young men, most of whom are students, in the areas they control.