Reports from Guri-el town in central Somalia say that newly arrived Ethiopian troops in the town have been attacked by armed islamist fighters triggering sudden fighting on Saturday night residents said.

Heavy fighting erupted Saturday night in central Somalia between Ethiopian troops backing the country's secular interim government and Islamist rebels, Radio Garowe reported.

When it was announced last month that the ruling party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had swept local polls in this vast Horn of Africa nation, few expressed surprise.

Ethiopian troops deployed in Somalia's central regions have conducted a series of movements over the weekend, sparking deadly battles with insurgents and leaving control of a strategic town to Islamist rebels.