Kenya sends troops to border with Somalia in bid to keep Islamic militants out

Wednesday, January 3rd 2007, 6:10 am

By: News On 6

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) _ Kenya sent extra troops to its border with Somalia on Wednesday to keep Islamic militants from entering the country after Ethiopian helicopters attacked a Kenyan border post by mistake while pursuing suspected fighters.

Meanwhile, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni flew to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to meet with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to discuss the framework of a regional peacekeeping mission to Somalia, said Okello Oryem, the Ugandan minister of state of foreign affairs.

Somalia's government forces, backed by Ethiopian troops, have been pursuing the remnants of the Islamic militia that until two weeks ago controlled most of southern Somalia.

Four Ethiopian helicopters apparently mistook a Kenyan border post at Harehare for the Somali town of Dhobley on Tuesday and fired rockets at several small buildings, a security officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. There were no reports of casualties, but Kenyan tanks were sent to the area early Wednesday, the officer added.

Residents in Dhobley said they witnessed the Ethiopian military aircraft bombing the area.

``Four military helicopters flew over our town several times and bombarded somewhere on the Kenyan side of the border,'' Mohamud Ilmi Osman said.

In the Kenyan port of Mombasa, Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf met with his Kenyan counterpart, Mwai Kibaki. Kibaki said Kenya would not be used as a refuge for people seeking to destabilize governments in the region _ clearly referring to foreign fighters for the Somali Council of Islamic Courts who may be sought for terrorism and other crimes.

Kenya has deployed troops, armored vehicles and trucks with light weapons along the 400-mile border with Somalia. A U.S. counterterrorism task force has trained new coast guards and recently gave Kenya three patrol boats.

There were signs that the Islamic movement may not be completely defeated. In the southern town of Jilib, a lone gunman killed three Ethiopians, including a commanding officer, witnesses said Wednesday.

``A gunman shouting 'Allahu Akbar' attacked Ethiopian soldiers in Jilib town and killed three soldiers,'' Tuesday, businessman Muhuyadin Sheik Ibrahim said. ``He attacked the soldiers three different times _ morning, afternoon and evening. He escaped the first two attacks by foot but was killed in the last one.''

Ibrahim said the attacker was one of 11 Islamic fighters who had stayed behind to launch such attacks, but that the other 10 had surrendered and returned to Mogadishu.

Somalia's transitional government and its Ethiopian allies have long accused Islamic militias of harboring al-Qaida, and foreign Islamic radicals _ including Pakistanis, Arabs and Chechens _ are believed to have come to Somalia to fight on behalf of the Islamic movement in recent months.

Three suspects wanted by the United States in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa are believed to be leaders of the Somali Islamic movement.

Islamic movement leaders deny having any links to al-Qaida.