Ethiopian troops and clan militia fighters forced Al-Qaeda-linked militants to flee a Somali town after heavy clashes Saturday, residents said. Al-Shabaab rebels were not immediately available to comment after the reports of the attack, but earlier said they had repelled three Ethiopian assaults north of the town. Both Ethiopia and Kenya have sent troops into Somalia to fight Al-Shabaab militants, following a wave of cross-border attacks and kidnappings Nairobi blamed on the rebels. “Ethiopian troops are now in Baladwayne town. Al-Shabaab fighters have run away,” resident Osman Farah said. “We were woken up by the shells of Ethiopian troops early in the morning. They attacked Al-Shabaab on the outskirts of the town. We cannot leave our houses. We can see Ethiopian troops from the cracks of our windows,” he said. There was no immediate comment from Addis Ababa.
