Ethiopia recalls general from Somalia

Ethiopia recalls general from Somalia Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:17:57 GMT
The commander of Ethiopian forces in Somalia has been called back to his country for his failure to bring peace to the war-torn nation.
Ethiopia's government ordered General Gabre Heard as well as a colonel connected to the Ethiopian secret intelligence agency to return to the country for failing to perform their duties, a Press TV correspondent reported Tuesday.
The men have since been replaced by two new Ethiopian army commanders in what has been described as a discreet handing-over ceremony in Mogadishu.
General Gabre had been accused by the former deputy prime minister of Somalia, Hussein Mohamed Farah Aideed, of allowing the killing and displacing of thousands of Somali civilians.
But Gabre and the unnamed colonel were reportedly also called back because of their suspected involvement in financial scandals including the blackmailing of the Somali president, prime minister and various businessmen.
Both men are thought to have gained large sums of wealth from the war in Somalia.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. In 2006, US-backed Ethiopian troops invaded the country in an attempt to back Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
Thousands of civilians have been killed and displaced as a result of the continuous violence in the war-torn country.