Ethiopian troops and Somali government forces have taken control of a key Somali city after battling al-Shabab rebels on the outskirts, leaving at least 18 dead, sources have said.
“The fighting started this morning after our forces supported by the Ethiopian military attacked the enemy’s positions on the outskirts of Beledweyne,” Bare Abdulahi, a Somali government security official, said from the scene on Saturday.
“They lost in the battle and we have penetrated into their barracks, killing nearly 20 of their fighters before taking control of the city.
“The Somali government forces alone entered the city and they are securing it now,” he added.
The city, Beledweyne, lies some 30 kilometres from the Ethiopian border.
“We have counted around 18 dead bodies, most of them the combatants, some of them have died outside the city
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