Government forces capture rebel in Baidoa, rebels driving through Mogadishu

• published: 23 Jul 2015
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Mogadishu 1. Islamic Courts Union (ICU) troops with guns getting out of vehicle 2. ICU troops with guns and anti-aircraft weapons heading towards the front line (towards Baidoa) 3. SOUNDBITE: (Somali) Sheik Yeussif Issa, Islamic Courts Union Commander: "We have given the Ethiopians a 7 day ultimatum to get out of Baidoa. One day has already passed if they don't pull their army out we will evict them by force. With the help of Allah and our people." 4. Various of heavily armed ICU troops preparing to head towards Baidoa Baidoa 5. Somali government soldiers leading away a blindfolded prisoner of war 6. Soldiers leading prisoner 7. Soldiers removing prisoner's belt 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hussein Farah Aideed, Minister of Interior for the Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia: "If the headquarters of the transitional federal institutions of Baidoa is attacked there will be a flame all over Somalia. If the Islamists attack the headquarters of the government of Baidoa the whole (of) Somalia will be in flame(s) and all the capital Mogadishu, the Kismayo, Baidoa, Johar, Beledweyne, all the south and central will be in flames." 9. Aideed talking to people outside building STORYLINE: An Islamic Court Union (ICU) commander, in charge of the anti-government militia, said from Somalia's capital on Wednesday that the Ethiopians now had only 6 days to leave the government held city of Baidoa or they would be removed by force. The ICU declared on Tuesday that it would launch a major attack on Ethiopian troops if they didn't withdraw from Somalia within seven days. "We have given the Ethiopians a 7 day ultimatum to get out of Baidoa. One day has already passed if they don't pull their army out we will evict them by force. With the help of Allah and our people," Sheik Yeussif Issa, an Islamic Courts Union Commander, told AP Television from the ICU held city of Mogadishu. Anti-government ICU troops were seen preparing weaponry in Mogadishu on Wednesday and heading towards the front line in Baidoa. Ethiopia supports the embattled government and has acknowledged sending military advisers here, though not a fighting force. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi dismissed the threat on Wednesday, saying it was nothing new. Several peace initiatives between the Somali government and the Islamic council have failed to take hold, with both sides trading accusations over who is to blame for the deadlock. Talks between the two sides in Khartoum, Sudan, have not yielded lasting results. The growing tension in Somalia, which has not had an effective government since 1991, threatens to erupt into a regional war. The Minister of Interior for the Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia, Hussein Farah Aideed, said that "if the Islamists attack the headquarters of the government of Baidoa the whole (of) Somalia will be in flame(s)." "All the capital Mogadishu, the Kismayo, Baidoa, Johar, Beledweyne, all the south and central will be in flames," he said. Government forces hold the city of Baidoa but the ICU is in control of large swathes of the country. On Wednesday government forces were seen leading away a blindfolded prisoner of war and removing his belt on the basis that it couldn't be used as a weapon. Meanwhile a European Union delegation visiting Mogadishu urged the country's increasingly powerful Islamic militia to resume peace talks with the government amid fears of war, an Islamic official said on Wednesday. The five-member delegation, including the Italian envoy to Somalia, Mario Raffaelli, met on Tuesday with top leaders of the Council of Islamic Courts. The delegation was expected to meet soon with members of the government in Baidoa, the only town the administration controls. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/811b58a3a9e4ae4dc7a12d3faa60a7d5 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork