BELETWEIN, Somalia Jan 24 (Garowe Online) - An unknown number of heavily armed insurgents attacked an Ethiopian army garrison in central Somalia on Thursday, in what locals describe as the first large-scale attack on the Ethiopian contingent in the region.

The fighting erupted in the central Hiran region, in a village approximately 20KM west of the provincial capital Beletwein, witnesses reported.

Somalia's guerrillas want Ethiopian troops out

Ethiopian troops and allied Somali security forces based at Kala-Beyr village came under heavy fire early in the morning. The fighting lasted for more than three hours, with our Beletwein correspondent reporting that the sounds of explosions could be heard inside the town.

There are no confirmed reports on casualties, but local sources said the fighting was intense and there were casualties on both sides.

“The fighting was fierce and I saw dead people, but I cannot say how many for sure,” said one witness who did not wish to be named.

The witness said local villagers, including nomadic families, began fleeing the area for fear for more attacks.

Three civilians were wounded in a location “far from the fighting,” said another witness.

Fighters on both sides used heavy weaponry during combat, including tanks, mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades. Sources said Ethiopian troops later bombarded a mountainous area, where the insurgents are believed to have fled.

Hiran Governor Yusuf Daboged confirmed to Garowe Online that the fighting did take place today, adding that the “attackers were overwhelmed and chased away.”

Locals said the fighters are “allied to the Islamic Courts,” an Islamist movement that ruled southern and central Somalia for the second half of 2006.

Islamist guerrillas are responsible for daily attacks on Somali and Ethiopian government troops in the national capital Mogadishu, but today's heavy battle in Hiran is an indication of the war's gradual expansion to other regions.

The African Union recently warned in a report that Mogadishu's guerrilla war was slowly "spreading" to other Somali regions.

Source: Garowe Online