MOGADISHU, Somalia Dec 20 (Garowe Online) - Somali clan elders who claim to represent the capital's dominant Hawiye community have welcomed the United Nations position on Somalia.

A spokesman for the Hawiye Elders Council spoke after select clan elders completed a meeting in Mogadishu on Thursday.

The spokesman condemned Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who accused the UN of "exaggerating" its reports from Somalia. [Full story]

"Ethiopian troops have killed more than 1,500 civilians in Mogadishu," the spokesman said.

Mohamed Hassan Haad

He welcomed UN special envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah's recent statement that there is an unfolding humanitarian situation in the country that the international community needs to address immediately.

Prime Minister Zenawi dismissed any allegation that the Ethiopian army committed war crimes in Somalia, especially in Mogadishu where they are helping the interim government suppress a brutal insurgency.

The Hawiye Elders Council is a self-appointed council of clan elders opposed to Ethiopia's military intervention in Somalia.

The Council's chairman, Mohamed Hassan Haad, was not present at the Thursday meeting because he went into hiding last month after he says he was threatened by Somali government officials.

The council's former spokesman, Ahmed Dirie, was arrested by the government with unconfirmed reports indicating that he was handed over to Ethiopian authorities.

Mr. Dirie is renowned for his anti-Ethiopia rhetoric and his repeated demands for an immediate Ethiopian pullout.

Somali government officials maintain that they invited the Ethiopian army into the country to assist in restoring national order after 17 years of civil war.

Source: Garowe Online