Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops moved into northern Mogadishu on Thursday, hours after the Islamic Courts Union vacated the city it had controlled for six months. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi confirmed the advance from Afgoye, about 20 kilometres west of the capital, saying forces were "already inside Mogadishu in some areas."
Residents in northern districts described crowds welcoming both Somali government soldiers and Ethiopian troops. One witness counted roughly 50 Ethiopian military vehicles in the area. Forces had approached from the north, northwest, and west, effectively encircling the city's land routes.
Government fighters secured the international airport, the sea port, and the presidential palace after the ICU completed what it called a tactical withdrawal. Ethiopian ground and air attacks on ICU positions had begun on 20 December.
In Afgoye, Gedi met with local elders and community leaders as fears mounted that the Islamists would shift to guerrilla tactics. Relief workers reported that ICU commanders had ordered their fighters to disperse into clan-based militias, reverting to the fragmented structure that had characterized Mogadishu before the ICU consolidated power across southern and central Somalia in June.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.