"[7][8] In September the ICU arrested journalist Osman Adan Areys of Radio Simba for two days for airing a report about the strict new rules and a curfew imposed on the town.

[9] On October 13, Sheikh Abdullahi Gurre, spokesman for the ICU, declared Ethiopian troops had crossed the border and were within 25 km of Beledweyne.

[12] On December 8, protests here held in Beledweyne to oppose the new UN Resolutions for an IGAD-led peacekeeping mission, dubbed IGASOM.

The Ethiopian forces were accompanied by Somali warlord Mohamed Omar Habeb 'Mohamed Dhere,' who wished to reestablish his control over Jowhar.

[16] On December 31, 2006, in an effort to head off additional bloodshed, Yusuf Ahmed Hagar "Dabageed," returning governor of Hiran, called for an end of three days of reprisals conducted by men loyal to him and the TFG.

He urged an end to the hunting for former members of the Islamist militias offered assurances that those who were now mingled with the rest of the population would not be hurt or killed.

[17] On January 1, 2007, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed declared a new administrator for Hiiran region, replacing Dabageed.

[18] On January 5, 2007, Sheikh Farah Moallim Mohamud became the highest-ranking member of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) to be captured by the Ethiopian-Somali forces.