Colonel Abdirahman Abdi Dimbil, accuse Ethiopian forces in Somalia of hidden agenda — Djiboutian AMISOM Commander, Colonel Abdirahman Abdi Dimbil, accused Ethiopian forces under the umbrella of AMISOM in Somalia of hidden agenda than to regain peace and security in the country.

Ethiopian troops serving under the umbrella of AMISOM and their Djiboutian counterpart are on a collision course after the latter demanded that the Ethiopian forces to declare their agendas in the country.

The fall-out emerged after the Ethiopian troops pulled out of the town of Halgan in Hiiran region without an order from the AMISOM commanders.

Colonel Abdirahman Abdi Dimbil who is in charge of Sector Four, said he was wary of Ethiopian troops in Hiiran region that conduct their operations independently from AMISOM mandates. He noted that the forces were receiving orders from Addis Ababa instead of AMISOM commanders.

“Ethiopian forces are not in the country to help Somalia regain peace and security, but have undisclosed agenda,” he alleged.

There was no immediate response from the Ethiopian forces in Somalia although they are serving in the country as part of African union coalition forces—AMISOM.

Colonel Dimbil said he was irked by the decision by the Ethiopians to withdraw from the town of Halgan that was liberated from the militant group Al Shabab early this month.

“They refused to stay in the town instead opting to leave it,” he said while speaking to VOA Somali. He called on the federal government to establish the reason behind their sudden withdrawal.

“Djibouti forces in the country will reconsider their joint operation with Ethiopians because we are not going the same direction,” he added.

The withdrawal come a day after the Somali national army and Ethiopian troops were ambushed by Al Shabab along the road links Halgan and Garasyani areas. No one was killed or injured in the ambush.

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Djiboutian Commander Lambasts Ethiopian Troops for Vacating Key Towns

By Hiiraan Online,

The withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from towns and districts they seized from militants in the new offensive has baffled their AU military counterparts who at one time watched the development taciturnly until one AU official decried the move, terming the troops as ‘non-AMISOM’ soldiers.

Col. Abdirahman Abdi Dhimbil, AMISOM’s Sector 4 Contingent Commander who spoke to the Voice of America Somali service on Monday expressed surprise at the mysterious withdrawals by Ethiopian troops, saying they “Ethiopians’ take orders from Addis Ababa instead of the AMISOM command” which they operate under its banner.

“We are waiting for the answer towards this from the Somali government – They are not parts of AMISOM.” Mr. Dhimbil said of the Ethiopian troops who have been integrated into the African Union force in Somalia last year.

He said his Djiboutian troops would recapture the towns abandoned by Ethiopian troops who he said have let the residents down. Elders in the areas abandoned by troops said the abrupt pull back by Ethiopian troops has dashed hopes of security for their towns as some residents fear militants’ backlash as result of their favorable reception for troops who seized it last week.

On Monday, residents in Halgan town reported that Al-Shabab fighters have arrested dozens of residents after reclaiming the district’s control over suspicions that they welcomed the abandoned troops.

Halgan district is on a major highway that runs all the way from the regional capital Beledweyne to Buloburte, the second largest town in the agricultural Hiran region where security forces are trying to connect roads and town blockaded by Al-Shabab fighters.

No comments could be reached from Ethiopian officials on the allegations.

However, col. Dhimbil said that Ethiopian troops have retreated from Halgan, Nur-Fanah, Bo’o, Buqaqable, El-Ali, Buqgosar, an extensive ground that may give the Al-shabab’s shrinking stronghold a breathing space for the group to launch larger attack on troops in the fertile Hiran region.

African Union officials haven’t commented on the development which raises questions troops’ earnestness of liberating the horn of Africa nation from the militants who continue deadly attacks across the country.

Al-Shabab aims to maintain its grip on the rural areas in Somalia after abandoning most of their key strongholds without putting resistance against troops who launched a multi-pronged offensive in Somalia.

The development means Al-Shabab fighters has effective control over strings of villages between Beledweyne and Buloburte, a corridor that could give the group a larger area to launch attacks to disrupt the ongoing offensive against it and consolidate their power bases in south and central Somalia.