Ethiopian troops move within 50 kilometres of Mogadishu (Roundup)

Mogadishu - Ethiopian-backed government troops came within 50 kilometres of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday and took the last remaining large town before the capital Mogadishu, residents said. Fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts Union load up on trucks to head to the front on Tuesday, 26 December, 2006 a day after the Ethiopian air-force bombed the runway. Somalia's Islamist militia reportedly pulls back from front line positions after assaults from the soldiers loyal to the internationally recognized transitional government which are backed by troops from Ethiopia. EPA/ABUKAR ALBADRI

Fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts Union load up on trucks to head to the front on Tuesday, 26 December, 2006 a day after the Ethiopian air-force bombed the runway. Somalia's Islamist militia reportedly pulls back from front line positions after assaults from the soldiers loyal to the internationally recognized transitional government which are backed by troops from Ethiopia. EPA/ABUKAR ALBADRIGovernment troops fought their way into Jowhar, some 90 kilometres north of Mogadishu early on Wednesday as Islamist fighters in the town retreated to the capital, after orders by the Islamist chairman, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. 'We attack Mogadishu Thursday. We will catch and behead all the terrorists and militants as they behead the innocent people,' said Mohamed Dhere, a former warlord who once controlled Jowhar and marched into the town with the government forces on Wednesday. Residents of Balad, 30 kilometres north of Mogadishu said the Ethiopian-backed forces were 20 kilometres away from their town, while all Islamist troops had retreated from there to the capital. In Jowhar, Dhere told residents they would now be able to watch movies and football, which the Islamists had banned. 'Now the people of Jowhar are free. Open your cinemas, open your businesses. You are under the care of the national forces of the transitional government,' he said from a pickup truck mounted with audio speakers. Almost immediately, kiosks were reopened for the sale of khat, a popular stimulant leaf which was banned by the Islamists. Cinemas opened and radios blared music, some playing Ethiopian hits. Ethiopia officially admitted to its presence in the conflict- ridden country on Sunday, declaring war on the Islamists, who controlled much of south-central Somalia. On Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his troops had half completed their mission - to protect the country's transitional government and Ethiopia from terrorist attacks. The past few days have seen Ethiopian airstrikes on two main airports, with the foreign troops seizing several Islamist-controlled towns. The Islamists, using pickup trucks strapped with machine guns, seem no match for Ethiopia, the greatest military power in the region. The Red Cross said it was treating some 800 wounded in hospitals around south-central Somalia due to the fighting. 'We can assume that hundreds have been killed with the various information we have from the ground,' said Pascal Hundt, the head of delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for Somalia. He said ICRC flights into the country were continuing, and that both sides of the conflict had given the group assurances they were safe to fly. The UN's World Food Program said on Wednesday it had temporarily suspended flights into southern Somalia for security reasons. Zenawi gave a higher casualty number on Tuesday, saying some 1,000 Islamist fighters were killed, many of whom were foreigners from neighbouring Eritrea, and that 3,000 had been wounded. Islamist officials have said they killed hundreds of government troops. The Islamist retreat has raised fears that a new phase of the war could begin, bringing guerilla tactics and attracting jihadists into the one-week-old fighting. 'Our forces are coming back for a tactical retreat. We will change the war into a guerilla war, and our forces have a mandate to ambush the enemy forces in every place,' said Islamist spokesman Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim Suley. The African Union was set to meet on Wednesday to discuss a solution to the fighting. Experts warn the Somali conflict could escalate into a regional war and a UN report has said some 10 countries were somehow meddling in the country's affairs. Somalia has been without strong central rule since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohammed Siad Barre plunged the country into anarchy. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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mduDec 27th, 2006 - 16:44:42

if only african people had an understanding of democracy with the rights of individuals to believes and religion being respected none of these wars in africa will be prevailing. We are daily becoming more of a joke to the world, power mongers who beleive in the shed of blood for any thing.why fight to lead people if the leadership qualities are a scarce resource in you. may be is time the people of somalia fight for their emancipation from any religious group and ensure the establishment of a government of the people by the people.

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JesusDec 27th, 2006 - 17:31:23

The west should support Ethiopia in their war against the islamic terrorists who are terrorising the world with their criminal tactics. This common criminals are also killing their own people and brainwashing ignorant people to fight their wars that only serve to benefit their hunger for power and not their love for god and faith.

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Just LoveDec 27th, 2006 - 19:09:44

Hear, Hear, Englishman! Religion is the Opiate of the masses. Money is not the root of all evil, radical religion is. The hate comes from believing you are better than anyone who doesn't believe as you do, and for that reason are willing to maim, torture and kill innocent people in the name of your religion. Disgusting - we still are lower than animals.

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RastaDec 27th, 2006 - 19:27:27

Surely these are the same people who murdered Haile Selassie and then sent Ethiopia into poverty with corruption at its highest. They do not even believe in free voices (opposition is banned). So how can you trust them that the Ethiopian PM of today is not the Saddam of tomorrow. Should the US be more careful over who it supports?

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Crusader101Dec 27th, 2006 - 22:16:24

The only thing that makes the world safer is to terminate all Muslim if they can not be converted, their thinking is barbaric and nothing is smart on their reason of thinking.

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be honest with the worldDec 27th, 2006 - 22:26:27

if the new goverment is for the people,why couln't they do anthing before. now when islamic court is giving order and peace to the land and their ppl. now the new goverment, usa, ethiopia, are 'concerned and wanted to help'

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Flangemaster ZDec 27th, 2006 - 23:40:35

Mix a 6th century idelolgy with 20th century weapons and this is what happens. Great. What's a real shame is that so many people think as a group and not as individual beings. Ship the Muslims back to the desert and sink it halfway. Yeah, sink the desert. Then drop C-130-loads full of bacon on Mecca.

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Sweet weaselDec 27th, 2006 - 23:41:47

Aww, they ran out of Jihad.

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KimDec 28th, 2006 - 03:36:35

Shaka Zulus Traybsman

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