Col Barre Adan Shire (Hirale) who was driven out of Kismayo is holding talks with elders and the administration of Garbaharey, the capital of Gedo Region.
Barre Hirale, who arrived with his militiamen in Garbaharey yesterday morning, has been holding various meetings since yesterday with the elders and the administration of the area on the fighting in Kismayo and the current situation there.
MP Barre Hiiraale who was recently defeated in Kismayo by Islamist fighters is said to be planning to cross the border to Dolow District in Ethiopia where he will ask for military assistance from the Ethiopian troops based there.
Further reports say that officers accompanying Barre Hirale wish to go further into Ethiopia to meet with other Ethiopian officers.
Meanwhile, the first deputy governor of Gedo Region, Muhammad Abdi Kalil, told Mareeg online that they support Barre Hiiraale's efforts to recapture Kismayo city.
Somalia has been at war since 1991, when clan-based militias ousted Siad Barre, a socialist dictator, and then fought for power among themselves.
The conflict is complicated by clan loyalties and the involvement of archenemies Eritrea and Ethiopia, who both back opposite sides in the fighting.
The last UN peacekeeping force in Somalia included American troops who arrived in 1992 and tried to arrest warlords and create a government.
The US involvement ended in October 1993, when fighters shot down a US Army Black Hawk helicopter during a battle that killed 18 American soldiers.
Since then, Ethiopian troops have helped Somalia's fragile transitional government push the Islamists from power in Mogadishu and much of the south, but failed to establish security or improve living standards
Shabelle Media Network
