Thousands of Ethiopian soldiers enter Somalia

Thousands of armed Ethiopian soldiers on Friday entered Galkayo province to the north east of Somalia in the area which declared itself as Pontland, and this was at the request of the call made by col. Abdullah Youssef Ahmad.

Eye-witnesses asked not to be identified said in Makadishu that the Ethiopian forces backed by heavy artillery and armored vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns, adding that the Ethiopian soldiers were riding trucks.

For its part, the Ethiopian government denied sending 1,000 Ethiopian soldiers to Galkayo Also news reports quoted government sources asked not to be identified as saying that Ethiopia has not any soldier in Somalia.

The Ethiopian official also denied his government to have had received a similar request by col. Abdullah Youssef Ahmad, one of the two officials who are asking to assume presidency in Pontland, who is known for his repeated visits to the Ethiopian capital.