Fighting Erupts In Somalia

Heavy fighting broke out between Somalia's government troops and rival Islamic militia Wednesday, throwing an EU peace initiative into doubt.

Clashes erupted 9 miles from the government garrison town of Baidoa where an EU envoy was meeting with senior leaders to press for peace talks.

The fighting took place just a day after an ultimatum by the Islamic group for Ethiopian troops backing the transitional government to leave or face a major attack.

As the clashes started, several hundred Ethiopian troops aboard 13 military trucks and with artillery support were deployed to strengthen government forces on the eastern side of the city, a government official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

Both sides are vying for control of the country. The government holds only a small area around the central town of Baidoa. The Islamic militiamen control the capital, Mogadishu, but have also fanned out across most of southern Somalia.

Louis Michel, the European commissioner for development and aid, was meeting Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and President Abdullahi Yusuf in Baidoa when the attacks began in two villages — Moode Moode and Daynunay — on the outskirts of the town.

Fighters from both sides clashed using artillery, rocket propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks in what appeared to be probing attacks rather than a full scale advance. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

"Islamic militias have attacked us and the fighting is continuing," Somalia's deputy defense minister Salad Ali Jelle told The Associated Press.

Somali government officials insisted Baidoa was not under threat and Michel flew out later for talks with the Islamic group in Mogadishu.

Abdirahin Ali Mudey, spokesman for the Islamic movement, said attacks were taking place in three areas and that they had captured the village of Daynunay.

Late Tuesday, government troops and Islamic militia also clashed near Idale, another front-line village northwest of Mogadishu, spokesmen from both sides said.

Ten people were killed.

Fears of a full-blown civil war have intensified in recent weeks as the government and the rival Council of Islamic Courts dismissed efforts to schedule peace talks and threatened military action.

Both sides have moved fighters, fuel and ammunition to the front lines.

Michel is trying to get both sides to stop fighting and commit to high-level peace talks, according to an EU statement released Tuesday. The government has agreed to look at how they can begin peace talks, Michel told the Somali parliament in Baidoa.

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991.

The secular government, set up in 2004 and backed by the United Nations, has rejected religious rule for Somalia, while the Muslim leaders have insisted on an Islamic government.

A war in Somalia right now would be devastating, the top U.N. official for Somalia warned last week. A drought wiped out most of the country's crops and livestock in late 2005 and early 2006, while flooding since September has destroyed tens of thousands of homes and spread more misery. Add fighting to the country's problems and as many as 400,000 refugees could flee into neighboring Kenya.

Another concern has been the Islamic movement's alleged ties to international terrorists, something Islamic leaders have repeatedly denied.

Jendayi Frazer, the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, has said al Qaeda militants are operating with "great comfort" in Somalia, providing training and assistance to the Islamic militia. Somali and Ethiopian officials have said they believe men wanted in connection with the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania now hold senior command positions within the Islamic forces.

Jelle told reporters Wednesday morning that one of the suspects in the embassy bombings, Abu Talha al Sudani, was leading the fighting near Idale, 37 miles, southwest of Baidoa.

"Sudani, a well-known terrorist, is in charge of the Islamic militias," Jelle said. "He was leading the militias who attacked us late Tuesday."