About 100 troops of Somalia's transitional government, who are backed by Ethiopian soldiers, have retaken a main town between the capital and the government's base from Islamic fighters, residents said Saturday. The government soldiers and Ethiopian troops in about 30 pickup trucks mounted with machine guns fought Islamic militiamen for about 20 minutes before taking control of Bur Haqaba, which has been held by the government's Islamic rivals for three months, the residents said. «I saw many government troops with heavy weapons entering the town. They settled in the main strategic points in the town. They do not seem to be going back,» resident Hussein Ibrahim Ali told The Associated Press by telephone. But it was not clear whether the Ethiopian soldiers actively took part in the battle. If they did, it would be the first time they have fought Islamic militiamen in Somalia following reports that Ethiopian soldiers entered the country in July. Information Minister Ahmed Jama Jangali denied that Ethiopians had been involved in the fight. He said that there were no casualties in the attack. Abdirahim Ali Mudey, a spokesman for the militia, said some people had been killed, but declined to give any figures. Jangali, speaking on the phone from the government base, Baidoa, said government forces entered Bur Haqaba because Islamic militiamen were extorting money from drivers passing through the town and had threatened residents who supported the transitional government.
