US signals support for Ethiopia in Somalia

WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) The United States today signaled support for Ethiopia's military offensive in Somalia, saying Addis Ababa had reasons for concern about the country's internal warfare.

The White House urged restraint by Ethiopia but also said the intervention should not be used as an excuse by Somalia's warring factions to avoid peace negotiations.

''Ethiopia has genuine security concerns with regard to developments within Somalia,'' said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

Johndroe added that Ethiopian forces were there ''at the request'' of Somalia's interim government, which wants to break the stronghold of the Islamic Courts Council on southern Somalia and Mogadishu.

''We have urged, and continue to urge, the Ethiopian government to exercise maximum restraint in intervening or responding to developments in Somalia and to assure the protection of civilians,'' Johndroe said. ''However, no Somali party should use external actors as an excuse to avoid further dialogue.'' Highlighting US concern about the conflict, President George W Bush spoke yesterday to Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni about Somalia.

The United States has accused the Islamic movement of harboring al Qaeda operatives and has warned that Ethiopia as well as Kenya could be targets of extremist elements from Somalia.

The Islamists claim broad popular support and say their main aim is to restore order to Somalia after years of warlord rule and anarchy.

An editorial in the Washington Post today warned that parts of Somalia controlled by the Islamists were beginning to look like Afghanistan under the Taliban before the September 11 attacks.

The Post said the Bush administration probably would have to prepare for much more active US engagement ''in what is emerging as a hot new front in the war on terrorism.'' Washington has struggled to find a coherent approach to Somalia and remains haunted by the 1993 ''Black Hawk Down'' incident in which 18 US soldiers and hundreds of Somalis were killed in a mission to pacify the country.

More recently, a covert counter-terrorism initiative in which the United States gave support to secular warlords fighting Islamists in Mogadishu backfired earlier this year.

Support for the Islamists increased after the US backing of the warlords became public.

Reuters SBA VP0115