Ethiopian Troops Advance on Somali Capital

Islamist forces in Somalia are in retreat Tuesday, as Somali government and Ethiopian troops advance toward the Islamist-held capital.

Somalia's ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah, said Tuesday that Ethiopian troops are within 100 kilometers of Mogadishu.

A top Islamist official, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said any attempt to take the Islamist-held capital would end in disaster for the attackers. The spokesman did not specify the threat, but said Islamists would fight Ethiopia everywhere for a long time.

Witnesses earlier Tuesday said Islamist fighters have withdrawn from Bur Hakaba, Dinsor, and other towns after coming under heavy attack from Ethiopian and Somali government forces. Islamist officials describe the move as a tactical retreat.

Ethiopian war planes struck again today, bombing the Islamist-held town of Lego, southwest of Mogadishu. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the fighting over the past week has killed at least 1,000 people, and wounded 3,000 others.

Other officials have reported death tolls in the hundreds, but none of the figures have been confirmed. Mr. Meles said his forces have completed about half their mission. He said when the mission is complete, Ethiopian troops will leave Somalia.

The fighting in Somalia broke out December 19, after months of rising tension as the Islamists took over much of the country's center and south. The Islamists had declared a holy war on Ethiopia, which supports Somalia's weak-but-internationally-recognized interim government.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

By VOA News