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Ethiopian Troops Advance on Somali Capital
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=157EE1C:A6F02AD83191E160B84C950229FFCF659574F7DCC14957C0 Somalian officials
say government and Ethiopian troops advancing toward Mogadishu after
rival Islamist forces retreated from front lines Islamist forces in
Somalia are in retreat Tuesday, as Somali government and Ethiopian





An Islamic Courts soldier patrols Mogadishu airport after the
Ethiopian air force hit Mogadishu airport, 25 Dec. 2006troops 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Witnesses earlier Tuesday said Islamist fighters have withdrawn from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.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. 


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