By Malyun Ali
New York (RBC) Ethiopian foreign minister has defended his country’s decision that brought the Ethiopian army to withdraw from Xudur, a town in southern Somalia region of Bakool last month that eased the militants to capture the town, RBC Radio reports.
Briefing the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, Tedros Adhanom said that Ethiopia informed the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Forces in Somalia to take up the vacuum, but failed to do.
“Ethiopia alone can not endure to keep the security of southwestern Somalia regions.” the foreign minister admitted.
On early March, Al Shabab militants took over Xudur town after Ethiopian forces vacated from the town. The move brought the government of Somalia to declare that it was preparing its troops backing by AMISOM to take over the vacuum.
Last week Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn said its troops will pull out from Somalia soon, voicing frustration with the Mogadishu government and African Union peacekeeping forces that are also battling Islamist militants there. But the remarks was dismissed by the foreign ministry spokesman.
Ethiopian, which is waging heavy battles from Al Shabab is not part of African Union Mission in Somalia and for that its prime minister Hailemariam said that Ethiopia bears the cost of its military operation in Somalia alone.
Meanwhile, according to VOA, the spokesman for the African Union Forces in Somalia Eloi Yao said that AMISOM did not aware of any report saying the Ethiopian forces’ urgent pull out from Somalia.
RBC Radio
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