Two killed in bomb attack on Colombia police station

Two civilians were killed and seven police and soldiers wounded in a bomb attack on a Colombian police barracks in Orito, in the southern province of Putumayo, last night.

The dead are believed to be the wife and son of a police officer who is a resident at the base. The officer himself is said to be in a serious condition in hospital.

While some media sources have speculated that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP) 48th Front were responsible for the attack, the mayor of Orito said he was not willing to speculate on who was responsible adding that both left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups were active in the area.

Ethiopian Army seizes Somali town from radical Islamic militants

A 3,000 strong force of Ethiopian troops has crossed the border and seized the Somali town of Beledwayene from Al-Shabaab militants.

Ethiopian soldier

The assault came after the Somali government announced a fresh offensive against the militants and called on neighbouring countries to aid them "to liberate the tyranny of Al-Shabaab".

In a statement the Somali government said:

"We are officially requesting the international community and the neighboring countries like Ethiopia to stand on our shoulders and help the Somali people and their government for the historic operation to liberate the country from this brutal terror group"

The Somali National Army is also said to be engaged in fierce fighting with the militants in the Hiiraan disctrict.

Earlier the radical Islamic insurgents claimed that their fighters repelled three Ethiopian assaults on the city before eventually a "planned withdrawal" took place. "Mujahideen are now surrounding the city" reported the organisations press office.

The militants have also claimed to have killed 54 Ethiopian troops in the city but have not released any information on their own casualties. They also claimed that troops had shelled civilian areas of the city and that residents of Beledwayne had joined with them to fight against the Ethiopian and Somali forces.

Control of Beledwayne, a key commercial centre, has changed control numerous times in recent months as various insurgent groups have fought to gain control of it. The Al-Shabaab group currently controls most of southern Somalia.

Top IRA commander calls on Spanish government to act over ETA ceasefire

A former leading member of the Provisional IRA has called on the Spanish government to move quickly to secure a lasting peace in the Basque Country.

Seánna Walsh, a former Officer Commanding IRA prisoners in the notorious Long Kesh prison, writing in IRIS Magazine said the Spanish government was still wedded to the "old agenda of repression and denial".

Seánna Walsh reads a statement on behalf of the IRA's ruling Army Council in 2005 announcing that the organisation is ending its armed campaign

  In October of this year the Basque armed separatist group, Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA) announced that its armed campaign was over and that the struggle for Basque Independence would continue through purely peaceful political means. So far the Spanish government has refused to negotiate with the organisation

"The Spanish government must be made to recognise that the alternative to compromise is more of the same old cycle of conflict and war, repression and guerrilla warfare - indefinitely." said Walsh

He also added that a complete end to the military conflict and a move towards a political struggle can only happen when the Spanish government begin by granting concessions such as releasing sick prisoners, repatriation of prisoners to the Basque country and the formulation of a release programme for ETA and other political prisoners.

The release of prisoners would be a major step out of bloodshed and repression and into a new future, he said.