BELETWEIN, Somalia Oct 12 (Garowe Online) - Ethiopian troops deployed in parts of central Somalia conducted military operations Saturday and Sunday, with reports saying they withdrew to border towns, Radio Garowe reports.

Witnesses and local sources in Beletwein, provincial capital of Hiran region, said the Ethiopian troops were accompanied by Somali government forces as they conducted search and seize operations in villages 50km west of Beletwein, near the Ethiopian border.

At least 15 young men were arrested and questioned by the Ethiopian soldiers and it remained unclear whether or not they were later released.

There were no reports of violence and the latest reports from the villages say the Ethiopian troops withdrew back towards the border Sunday afternoon.

The Ethiopian army intervened in south-central Somalia for two years ending in Jan. 2009. Beletwein had the third-largest presence of Ethiopian troops during that period.

Today, Beletwein is ruled by Hizbul Islam rebels who have vowed to overthrow the UN-recognized interim government in Mogadishu.

Source: Garowe Online