GURI EL, Somalia Dec 8 (Garowe Online) - A new contingent of Ethiopian troops entered parts of Galgadud region, in central Somalia, in a renewed effort to counter against the Islamist Al Shabaab faction's recent territorial gains.

Residents in Balanbal district along the Ethio-Somali border reported that 10 Ethiopian military trucks set up a new camp in the outskirts of town.

Communications were cut off from Balanbal as Ethiopian forces set up checkpoints and moved military trucks including tanks into position.

Radio Garowe's Galgadud correspondent, Abdifatah Hassan Farah, said that some of the Ethiopian troops moved on towards Guri El, a trading town recently seized by Al Shabaab insurgents.

The Ethiopian government has declared that it will withdraw its armed forces from Somalia as part of a new peace deal between the Somali interim government and an Islamist-led opposition faction.

Islamist groups like Al Shabaab, which is spearheading the anti-Ethiopia insurgency, have rejected the peace agreement and continue to stage near-daily guerrilla attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of the country.

Al Shabaab, which is labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, now controls key towns in southern and central Somalia, including the port towns of Kismayo and Marka.

Source: Garowe Online