JIGJIGA, Ethiopia Mar 8 (Garowe Online) - At least 25 people were killed and scores wounded Saturday in some of the heaviest battles in Ethiopia in recent months, Radio Garowe reports.

The fighting erupted Friday afternoon and continued until midday Saturday in Mustahil district, in the Somali-inhabited region of eastern Ethiopia, local sources said.

A group of Somali rebel factions formed an alliance and attacked Ethiopian army garrisons in the region, including Ethiopian troops who redeployed from Somalia in January.

Unconfirmed reports said armed trucks were burned on both sides, as the fighting groups used heavy weapons to get the upper hand in the battle.

Somali rebel leaders said they killed many Ethiopian soldiers, while Ethiopian army commanders claimed to have killed many rebels and continue to hold control over the area.

At least 30 people were wounded in the fierce fighting, which reportedly spread into towns along the Somali-Ethiopian boundary.

There were many civilians among the dead and wounded, but casualty figures were difficult to confirm due to the limited information emerging from the war zone.

Thousands of Ethiopian troops returned to their home country two months ago after a two-year military occupation in Mogadishu that led to a bloody uprising led by Somali Islamist guerrillas.

Ethnic Somalis in Ethiopia are fighting for self-determination against the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who is widely seen as a tyrant by Ethiopia's many ethnic groups.

Source: Garowe Online