Ethiopian tanks roll to Somali battlefront (Reuters)

Ethiopian tanks roll to Somali battlefront

By Hassan Yare
25 minutes ago

BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Ethiopian tanks rolled to the battlefront on Friday
as Somali Islamists and pro-government troops pounded each other with artillery
and rockets in a fourth day of clashes edging closer to all-out war.

The Islamists said they would send ground troops to attack en masse on Saturday,
as opposed to fighting from a distance with heavy weapons as they have been doing
so far.

"Our troops have not started to attack. From tomorrow the attack will start,"
Islamist deputy spokesman Ibrahim Shukri told a news conference.

Witnesses near the fighting on two fronts near the government's encircled stronghold
of Baidoa said they heard the rumble of armor before dawn.

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