Somalis protest Ethiopian detention of commander

MOGADISHU, Jan 7 (Reuters) Hundreds of Somalis today protested in a town near the Ethiopian border, burning tyres and demanding Ethiopian troops free a military commander detained for refusing to hand over an ousted Islamist, a resident said.

''We are demonstrating against the arrest of our commander by Ethiopian troops. We want him released immediately,'' Haji Nur, a resident of the south central town of Baladwayne, told Reuters by telephone, as gunshots could be heard in the distance. No Ethiopian troops were in the town.

REUTERS SY BST1731