Tension rises in Somalia as talks fail

Hundreds of Ethiopian troops moved into a second Somali town yesterday to protect the country’s weak, UN-backed government, as talks aimed at easing tensions fell apart when the government did not turn up and Islamist militia delegates walked out.

About 200 Ethiopian troops with at least five pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns and other vehicles moved into Wajid, a UN aid base about 75 kilometres south-east of the Somali-Ethiopian border, several witnesses said, on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals.